Chico Mendes

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Chico Mendes (1988)
Chico Mendes in his back yard at his home in Xapuri, Acre in 1988
In 2007 the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation ( Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade ) (ICMBio) was founded

Chico Mendes , real name Francisco Alves Mendes Filho , (born December 15, 1944 in Xapuri , Brazil, † December 22, 1988 in Xapuri) was the leader of the agricultural workers' union and campaigned as a rubber tapper in the Brazilian state of Acre for the rights of workers threatened by land removal until he was murdered by large landowners for his commitment.

Life

During the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964–1985) Mendes was persecuted and imprisoned several times. In 1977 he founded a rubber tappers' union ( Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais de Xapuri ) , which opposed the strong economic interests of cattle breeders and the timber industry and advocated the preservation of forests, which are collecting areas for rubber and Brazil nuts and thus the livelihood of the seringueiros (rubber tappers) or Castanheiros (collectors of Brazil nuts).

On his initiative, the indigenous inhabitants and the organization of the rubber collectors jointly drafted the Manifesto of the Peoples of the Forest ( Em Defesa dos Povos da Floresta ) , which demands, among other things:

"... to protect and preserve that enormous and yet fragile cycle of life that our forests, lakes, rivers and springs form - because it is the source of our wealth, the basis of our forms of life and cultural traditions."

Mendes was elected to the Xapuri City Councilor for the MDB in 1977, and in 1979 he was elected chairman of the city council ( Câmara Municipal ) and leader of the agricultural workers' union. In 1980 he joined the newly founded Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) and supported the establishment of the party in Acre.

On December 22, 1988, he was shot in the doorway of his own house by the landowner Darli Alves de Silva and his son Darci Alves de Silva. Two years later, the attackers were sentenced to 19 years in prison. His assassination attracted international attention and ultimately led to a reorientation of politics and the increased establishment of extraivism reserves , including the Reserva Extrativista Chico Mendes in 1990.

In 2009 Mendes was officially rehabilitated by the Brazilian government against all legal allegations made against him during the military dictatorship. His widow was awarded compensation and a pension. His house in Xapuri was added to the list of national cultural monuments .

Awards

  • 1987: Environment Prize Global 500 of the UN
  • 1989: Bernhard Eduard Fernow plaque from the German Forest Association / American Foresters Association (posthumous)
  • In 2013, a newly discovered species of bird of the tyrants in the Amazon basin , Zimmerius chicomendesi , was named after Chico Mendes .

reception

bibliography

Movie

  • Adrian Cowell: The Killing of Chico Mendes
  • Camera Guys: Rubber Jungle - The Story of Chico Mendes and the Rubber Tappers of Brasil
  • 1989, Miranda Productions : Voice of the Amazon

literature

  • Andrew C. Revkin : The Burning Season - The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest , Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston 1990 (German Chico Mendes - Tod im Regenwald , Paul List Verlag, Munich 1990)

music

theatre

Web links

Commons : Chico Mendes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tropical Forest Network Brazil, 2002: News from Brazil. Case Chico Mendes reopened ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b c Deutschlandradio Kultur , calendar sheet , December 22, 2013, Karl-Ludolf Hübener: deutschlandradiokultur.de: 25 years ago - murder of the Brazilian environmentalist Chico Mendes (December 27, 2013)
  3. ↑ Gomercindo Rodrigues: Memória: Chico Mendes. Fundação Perseu Abramo, June 25, 2009 . Retrieved August 18, 2014 (Portuguese).
  4. ↑ Chico Mendes: O Homem da Floresta. Website pick-upau . Retrieved September 26, 2015 (Portuguese).
  5. ↑ Neue Zürcher Zeitung of February 11, 2009: "Chico Mendes officially rehabilitated"
  6. ↑ Fernow badge. In: forstverein.de. German Forest Association, accessed on February 13, 2019 .
  7. ^ Ferran Gil: 15 New species of birds discovered in Amazonia. Handbook of the Birds of the World, July 3, 2013, accessed July 22, 2016 .
  8. ↑ bullfrogfilms.com (December 3, 2014)
  9. ↑ chicomendes.com (December 3, 2014)
  10. ↑ mirandaproductions.com
personal data
SURNAME Mendes, Chico
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mendes Filho, Francisco Alves
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Brazilian rubber tapper, founder of the rubber tapper union and environmental activist
DATE OF BIRTH December 15, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Xapuri , Acre , Brazil
DATE OF DEATH December 22, 1988
Place of death Xapuri , Acre , Brazil