11/25/2008

When jobs and the "environment" clash: "Brazil mob attacks environmental police in Amazon"

The Associated Press has this piece:

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - A mob of about 3,000 people enraged by a crackdown on illegal logging trashed a government office in a remote jungle city and tried to attack environmental workers, authorities said Monday.
Environment Minister Carlos Minc said federal police should be sent to the northeastern town of Paragominas following the riot, which was prompted by the seizure of 400 cubic meters (14,124 cubic feet) of wood believed to have been cut inside an Indian reservation.

Many residents of the Amazon deeply resent—and sometimes attack—environmental officials who try to block logging that provides income for rich and poor alike.

The mob invaded the offices of the Ibama environmental protection agency on Sunday, destroying furniture and burning important paperwork, Minc said.

Then they allegedly used a tractor to try to invade a hotel where Ibama workers were staying, but were repelled with tear gas by police. Minc's ministry said no one was injured.

Paragominas is about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the small city of Tailandia, where a mob of 2,000 rioted over wood seizures in February, forcing environmental authorities to leave the city for days. . . .

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1 Comments:

Blogger juandos said...

Interesting story here from the always questionable AP...

I can see why there might be a problem here having been to the Amazonian jungle (both Brazil & Peru) with regards to setting up tree farms....

The soil is actually quite poor when compared to rain forest soil in Washington state for instance...

11/25/2008 6:36 AM  

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