Article



Dados vol. 34 n. 3 Rio de Janeiro 1991

Amazônia: A Estratégia do Desperdício

Ramos, Alcida Rita

Abstract

The paper deals with the issue of development in Amazonia, with special attention to its impact on indigenous peoples. Throughout the centuries white occupation of the region has been accomplished at the expense of the integrity of the Indians and of the environment. The continuous trend in the quest for quick profits by private interests and for geopolitical control by the Brazilian State has left behind a wasteland in terms of both natural resources and social systems. As a contemporary example of such a wasteful continuity the paper focusses on the role of the Armed forces and their "Calha Norte" Project, intended to settle the northern border strip with non-Indians by expropriating large portions of traditional Indian lands. The Project discloses the latest attempt by the military to maintain their centuries-old control over the region and their desire to establish Brazil's hegemony amongst its Amazonian neighbors.

Full text

Amazônia: A Estratégia do Desperdício