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m Robot - Speedily moving category People from Acre to People from Acre (state) per CFDS.
→‎Legacy: added a film about Chico, called Voice of the Amazon, from 1989; also corrected misinformation about the film Children of the Amazon.
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==Legacy==
==Legacy==
A memorial garden in Mendes' honor was constructed in [[Los Angeles]], but was controversially demolished in 1997. A bar in the [[Student Union]] of the [[University of Hull]] was also named in his honor.<ref>[http://www.unofficial-guides.com/guides/hull-social.html]</ref>
A memorial garden in Mendes' honor was constructed in [[Los Angeles]], but was controversially demolished in 1997. A bar in the [[Student Union]] of the [[University of Hull]] was also named in his honor.<ref>[http://www.unofficial-guides.com/guides/hull-social.html]</ref>

[http://www.chicomendesstory.com ''Voice of the Amazon''] is a documentary film on the life and death of Chico Mendes, first broadcast in 1989. Filmmaker Miranda Smith met Chico in November, 1988, a few short weeks before he was murdered, and filmed what was to be his last interview. Smith returned to Xapuri shortly after his death and conducted extensive interviews with his widow, fellow rubber tappers, landlords, politicians, and other players in the last months of Chico's life.


In 1989, the [[Bread and Puppet Theater]] published ''The Same Boat: The Passion of Chico Mendes'' with verse by Burt Porter, and introduced a [[passion play]] based on this book, which it continues to perform. The play includes audience members who take the roles of rainforest animals, rubber tappers, and skeletons.
In 1989, the [[Bread and Puppet Theater]] published ''The Same Boat: The Passion of Chico Mendes'' with verse by Burt Porter, and introduced a [[passion play]] based on this book, which it continues to perform. The play includes audience members who take the roles of rainforest animals, rubber tappers, and skeletons.
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From 27 November 2008 to 24 January 2009, the [[Young Vic|Young Vic Theatre]] and People's Palace Projects in [[London]] staged the play ''Amazônia'', with Chico Mendes played by Michael Aguilar. The play was the culmination of a twelve-month programme of events produced in association with the Serviço Social de Comérico [SESC] and the League of Quadrilhas in Acre, Brazil.<ref>[http://www.amazonia-london.com/]</ref>
From 27 November 2008 to 24 January 2009, the [[Young Vic|Young Vic Theatre]] and People's Palace Projects in [[London]] staged the play ''Amazônia'', with Chico Mendes played by Michael Aguilar. The play was the culmination of a twelve-month programme of events produced in association with the Serviço Social de Comérico [SESC] and the League of Quadrilhas in Acre, Brazil.<ref>[http://www.amazonia-london.com/]</ref>


''[[Children of the Amazon]]'', a [[documentary film]] produced and directed by Denise Zmekhol released in 2008, includes extensive interviews which Zmekhol had conducted with Mendes prior to his murder. It also features contemporary interviews with his surviving wife and children, and others who describe Mendes and his work to save the forest. ''Children of the Amazon'' describes the ongoing efforts of the rubber tappers and the indigenous tribes of the Amazon to promote social justice and sustainable use of the forest and its resources.<ref>{{Citation
''[[Children of the Amazon]]'', a [[documentary film]] produced and directed by Denise Zmekhol released in 2008, includes extensive interviews which were first included in Miranda Smith's biography of Chico, ''Voice of the Amazon''. It also features contemporary interviews with his surviving wife and children, and others who describe Mendes and his work to save the forest. ''Children of the Amazon'' describes the ongoing efforts of the rubber tappers and the indigenous tribes of the Amazon to promote social justice and sustainable use of the forest and its resources.<ref>{{Citation
| last = Revkin
| last = Revkin
| first = Andrew
| first = Andrew

Revision as of 22:45, 18 January 2011

Chico Mendes
File:Chico Mendes.jpg
Born(1944-12-15)December 15, 1944
Xapuri, Brazil
DiedDecember 22, 1988(1988-12-22) (aged 44)
Xapuri, Brazil
Cause of deathAssassination
OccupationSocial activist
ChildrenAngela Mendes
Elenira Mendes
Sandino Mendes

Francisco Alves Mendes Filho Cena ("Filho" is the equivalent to "Junior"; "Chico" is an abbreviative nickname for "Francisco" in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries), better known as Chico Mendes (December 15, 1944 – December 22, 1988), was a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist. He fought to stop the burning and logging of the Amazon rainforest to clear land for cattle ranching, and founded a national union of rubber tappers in an attempt to preserve their profession and the rainforest that it relied upon. He was murdered in 1988 by ranchers opposed to his activism.

History

At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realise I am fighting for humanity.

— Chico Mendes[1]

Mendes grew up in a family of rubber tappers in Acre State, Brazil. When he was nine years old he continued on the family tradition. However, rubber prices had collapsed in the 1960s, and many landowners were selling their properties to the highest bidder - which in most cases, meant cattle ranchers. Rubber tappers were finding themselves pushed out of their lands.

Mendes' ally Wilson Pinheiro was assassinated.

When the first meeting of this new union, the National Council of Rubber Tappers, was held in 1985, in the capital, Brasilia, rubber tappers from all over the country came. Many had never been outside their local area before. He succeeded in educating many about the issues of deforestation, road paving, cattle ranching, and the threats to their own livelihoods. The meeting also had the effect of catching the attention of the international environmentalist movement, and highlighting their plight to a larger audience. He chose to align himself and the union with environmentalism, rather than Marxism. In November of that year, Adrian Cowell, an English filmmaker, made a documentary about Mendes.

Individual activism

In 1987, after being contacted by the Environmental Defense and National Wildlife Federation, Mendes flew to Punjab, India in an attempt to convince the Inter-American Development Bank that their road project in his area would end in disaster, unless it took into consideration the preservation of the forest and the livelihoods of its inhabitants. He was successful, with the project first being postponed, and then, with his participation, renegotiated. He won two international environmental awards for this. On his return, he met with General Bayma Denys, the Minister of the Military Cabinet of the Presidency, and used the opportunity to push his ideas for reserves.

In 1988, Mendes launched a campaign to stop rancher Darly Alves da Silva from logging an area that was planned a reserve. Mendes not only managed to stop the planned deforestation and create the reserve, but also gained a warrant for Darly's arrest, for a murder committed in another state. He delivered the warrant to the federal police, but it was never acted upon.

Assassination

On the evening of Thursday, December 22, 1988, exactly one week after his 44th birthday, Chico Mendes was assassinated by gunshot at his Xapuri home. In December, 1990, rancher Darly Alves da Silva, his son Darci Alves da Silva, and their ranch hand, Jerdeir Pereia were sentenced to 19 years in prison for their part in Mendes' assassination. In February, 1992, they won a retrial, but remained in prison. In 1993, they staged an escape, but were recaptured, except for Darci, who was as of 2004 still in the jungle. Some local ranchers are still being investigated.

The murder of Chico Mendes made international headlines, including the front page of the New York Times. Thanks in part to the international media attention surrounding the murder, the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve was created in the area where he lived. There are more than 20 such reserves now, along the same lines as Mendes had proposed, covering more than 8 million acres (32,000 km²).

Legacy

A memorial garden in Mendes' honor was constructed in Los Angeles, but was controversially demolished in 1997. A bar in the Student Union of the University of Hull was also named in his honor.[2]

Voice of the Amazon is a documentary film on the life and death of Chico Mendes, first broadcast in 1989. Filmmaker Miranda Smith met Chico in November, 1988, a few short weeks before he was murdered, and filmed what was to be his last interview. Smith returned to Xapuri shortly after his death and conducted extensive interviews with his widow, fellow rubber tappers, landlords, politicians, and other players in the last months of Chico's life.

In 1989, the Bread and Puppet Theater published The Same Boat: The Passion of Chico Mendes with verse by Burt Porter, and introduced a passion play based on this book, which it continues to perform. The play includes audience members who take the roles of rainforest animals, rubber tappers, and skeletons.

Chico Mendes is one of three characters in the short Edward Bond play "September" collected in the book Two Post-Modern Plays: Jackets & in the Company of Men[3]. It was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature and first performed at the Canterbury Cathedral on the 16th of September 1989. The production was directed by Greg Doran, Designed by Jenny Tirahani and featured John Kane as Chico Mendes, Maggie Steed as O and Assam Mamodeally as the Beggar.

Mendes was played by Raúl Juliá in the 1994 television film The Burning Season (in Portuguese, Amazônia em Chamas), directed by the film maker John Frankenheimer and based on the award-winning book of the same name by Andrew Revkin. In the cast, Sônia Braga, Edward James Olmos and Kamala Lopez-Dawson also feature. Today the movie is available in VHS and DVD formats. It was one of Juliá's last performances before his death in the same year; he posthumously won a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Mendes. Altogether the film won three Golden Globe awards and two Emmys.

Mendes has been the subject of several songs:

In 2004, the fish species Astyanax chico was named in honor of Chico Mendes.

From 27 November 2008 to 24 January 2009, the Young Vic Theatre and People's Palace Projects in London staged the play Amazônia, with Chico Mendes played by Michael Aguilar. The play was the culmination of a twelve-month programme of events produced in association with the Serviço Social de Comérico [SESC] and the League of Quadrilhas in Acre, Brazil.[4]

Children of the Amazon, a documentary film produced and directed by Denise Zmekhol released in 2008, includes extensive interviews which were first included in Miranda Smith's biography of Chico, Voice of the Amazon. It also features contemporary interviews with his surviving wife and children, and others who describe Mendes and his work to save the forest. Children of the Amazon describes the ongoing efforts of the rubber tappers and the indigenous tribes of the Amazon to promote social justice and sustainable use of the forest and its resources.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "United Nations Environment: Programme Environment for Development". Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Bond, Edward. "September." Two Post-Modern Plays: Jackets & in the Company of MenLondon: Methuen Drama, 1990.
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ Revkin, Andrew (2008-12-22), "The Uncertain Legacy of Chico Mendes", New York Times {{citation}}: Check |author-link= value (help); External link in |author-link= (help)

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