São Paulo – The Trans-Amazonian is an icon. The highway that crosses Northern Brazil from East to West is, in its Amazonian section per se, a source of countless stories, most of which address its terrible conditions. Yes, it’s in bad shape, but perfectly driveable during the drought, and driving along it means penetrating the depths of Brazil.
The E.Torq Amazon Journey team, which travelled from the city of São Paulo to the region, took the BR-230 highway in Marabá, coming from the region of Carajás (read about the stretch from São Paulo to the Trans-Amazonian in the article published on Friday). The tarmac vanishes shortly past the urban perimeter and the dust sets in. Lots of it. This year, the drought in the North lasted longer and was harsher than usual, and when the group went to the region, in October, the first rains had not fallen yet.
In some stretches, the Trans-Amazonian’s tarmac seems covered by a sand-coloured tarmac, which rises whenever vehicles pass through and takes a long time to settle. At times, when driving past a truck, one must stop the car in order to wait for the dust to settle, because the visibility drops to zero. For the same reason, it is best to keep a certain distance from the next vehicle.
Whenever the thin dust is present, double attention must be paid, because it hides holes that may break the suspension, or stones that are a hazard to the crankcase. The average speed must be low. In the rain season, the Amazonian winter, which takes up more than half of the year, the earth turns to mud and gives rise to huge bogs that render the road virtually impassable.
In the small cities by the Trans-Amazonian, there are plenty of evangelical churches, simple houses and the ever-present motorcycles, which seem to have replaced horses, donkeys and mules as a means of transport in the region. Infrastructure lacks, illegal electric connections are galore on lighting posts and many of the streets are not tarmacked. The scenery is reminiscent of the Old West.
The Trans-Amazonian and BR-163, also known as the Cuiabá-Santarém highway, are "sister" highways, and were built during the term in office of president Emílio Garrastazu Médici (1969-74), at the height of the military dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985. It was the time of the "Economic Miracle," a period during which the country grew at rates that would now be considered "Chinese," but which did not last long and ended with the first oil shock, in 1973.
Under the motto "integrar para não entregar" (integrate so as not to lose out), the government encouraged the colonization of the Amazon by people from other regions. According to the project, the highways would ensure the logistics required in order for the agricultural production to be transported out of the "travessões", the smaller roads that cut through the BR-230 highway, and small planned cities, named agrovilas, would provide the infrastructure needed.
The colonization did happen, but the promised infrastructure did not come to be. There was also the deforestation of the woods to start farms and the extraction of wood, however the large-scale agricultural production never took place, because the bad condition of the highways impedes cargo transportation during most of the year. What is left is cattle breeding.
"If the project of the Trans-Amazonian was a mistake, abandoning it was an even greater one," believes Antonia Melo, the coordinator of Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre, based in the city of Altamira.
Simple people
It is a region of simple people, such as fisherman Zézim, the owner of Peixe Frito restaurant, located at the abutment of a bridge over the Arataú River, in the municipality of Novo Repartimento. Born in the south of the state of Pará, he has never let the region. His territorial knowledge ranges from Altamira to Marabá, a span of less than 500 kilometres. He is an easy-smiling, hospitable man who likes to chat, as many in the region do.
Anapu is another small city by the road, but it has a sad story. There, in 2005, sister Dorothy Stang, a nun who championed social and environmental causes, was murdered by gunmen hired by a local farmer. Senseless acts of violence such as this contrast with the congeniality of people such as Gelásio Pacher, a native of the state of Santa Catarina who owns a restaurant in the municipality, and one among many migrants who have settled in Pará.
Altamira is probably the most tidy and organized city in the region. The streets are clean and well asphalted and the Xingu river, one of the tributaries of the Amazonas river, helps to give it a pleasant feel. The hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte is scheduled to be built there and is a cause for controversy among locals, who often have passionate opinions against and in favour of the work.
Rurópolis, which is located right at the crossing of the two highways, was meant to be one of the agrovilas conceived when the Trans-Amazonian was built. It is a small city with few attractions, yet it houses some symbols of the past, such as the Presidente Médice a, inaugurated in 1974 and where the former Brazilian president once spent a night.
Before taking the Cuiabá-Santarém, headed for the state of Mato Grosso, the group decided to travel to Itaituba, near the border between Pará and Amazonas. It was worthwhile because of the crossing of the beautiful Tapajós river during the sunset.
End of the adventure
During this stretch and throughout, the BR-163 bears the marks of change. Tractors, road-cleaning tractors, rollers and trucks work hectically to recover the highway. Even the Army helps in the work. There is a forecast of asphalting the two highways, which should reduce the adventurous character of a trip such as this. The works are going to make the life of the local population easier, but there is a concern with growing deforestation.
In the Cuiabá-Santarém, southbound, mines still proliferate and it is possible to see scenes of the past, such as huge herds guided by horsemen in long trips along the highway.
To return to São Paulo, the team also crossed the state of Mato Grosso and part of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. They all arrived in one piece and the cars did not have one single flat tyre, after having covered 8,500 kilometres. The only casualty happened on the last day of the trip: a seriema, a beautiful bird of the Brazilian savannah, decided to cross the lane right in front of the Palio Adventure. Poor creature, died on the spot.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
