“Adverse Forces” in the Brazilian Amazon: Developmentalism Versus Environmentalism and Indigenous Rights

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the ghost of an “international conspiracy” to occupy the Brazilian Amazon has emerged against the backdrop of shifting social and political realities. This article looks at how Brazilian political elites and military forces have influenced national interpretations of environmentalism and indigenous peoples’ rights. It considers the formation of long-standing images and ideas perpetuated through economic plans like Avança Brasil , Growth Accelerated Program (PAC), and the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA) as well as international environmental initiatives such as on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD). Environmentalists and indigenous peoples have been viewed as opponents to economic growth and barriers to development. These images reflect entrenched political positions within Brazilian society, largely unrecognized on the international stage but critical to understanding Brazil’s ambiguous positions in international negotiations.