Large estate, conflict and development in the Valley of Jari: from the aviamento to green capitalism

Abstract

This article discusses the history of the exploitation of one of the largest land estates of the world, basedin the JariRiver valley, in the states of Pará and Amapá, Brazil. Several million hectares of virgin forest were gathered in the 19th century, at a time when the aviamento system would empower the “rubber’ barons”, at the expense of local extractivist peasants. Though it was initially constituted by the social subjugation of local populations, a century later, the Jari Project has become a pioneering example of “green capitalism”; the company is world-renowned and rewarded for its social and environmental practices. Meanwhile, the head company is today involved in serious social conflicts with local peasants, and is being investigated for land grabbing and irregularities in the forest management. In this paper, we intend to recount the history and economic strategies of the populations that lived in the Jari Valley throughout its process of occupation and exploitation by private companies. We will describe as well some of the issues raised by actual territorial conflicts.