São Paulo – Travelling from São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, to the Amazon, in the north, and visiting the sites that have been news in the region in recent decades. All by car. That was the objective targeted, and reached, by a group of journalists, including ANBA, for three weeks in October.
The trip began on Saturday, the 2nd, when the three participants met at Fiat Ventuno dealership, in Mooca, in the eastern zone of the city of São Paulo, to collect the two cars loaned by the carmaker for the trip, baptized E.torQ Amazon Journey, in reference to the carmaker’s new line of engines.
The first days were for transport, with stops for pictures, food, sleep and chats with some interesting characters found en route. From São Paulo, the group headed on to Minas Gerais and from there to Goiás. The fist night was spent at a very simple hotel in Cristalina, a city in the state of Goiás, known for its crystals, 900 kilometres away from the starting point.
On the following morning, the first round of the presidential elections, the group headed to Brasília, where they stopped to take pictures at Ministries Esplanade, in front of the National Congress. From there, the group headed onto the BR-153, Belém-Brasília, to Pará, crossing the state of Tocantins.
The midwest of Brazil is marked by agriculture and livestock and by the savannah. Still close to Brasília, the group started seeing sceneries that became common along the trip: areas with large cattle farms, areas of burning, Landless Workers’ Movement camp sites, and an unforgettable sunset.
On what remained of a Landless Movement’s camp site, José Rodrigo awaited his turn for settlement. The search for areas for cultivation seems to be the objective of the entire family. His brothers, he said, have already been settled and his father, 88 years of age, "is after land too".
The route to the North shows another traditional characteristic of Brazilian roads, the proliferation of barbecue restaurants. The Midwest and North attracted many immigrants from other states, mainly southern Brazil.
The second night was spent in Porangatu, close to the border between Goiás and Tocantins, to the sound of a convoy celebrating the victory of a congressman elected that day. The city showed another traditional characteristic to be identified from there on: the great number of motorcycles.
The group entered southeastern Pará through Conceição do Araguaia, self-denominated the "Portal of the Amazon". Although it was night, the long bridge that crosses Araguaia River showed the dimensions of the rivers to be found ahead, even in the dry season. On crossing from one state to the other, the conditions of the roads became steadily worse, though tarmacked.
The night stop was in Redenção, at Triângulo Mineiro hotel. Not before dinner, at Boi na Brasa barbecue restaurant. There, alongside the groups that heatedly discussed the results of the elections, materialised one more custom that would be repeated in almost all food and beverage establishments from then on: Brazilian country music played at full volume. That and the traditional television, turned on, no matter how simple the bar.
Underground riches
The next stop was Parauapebas, where the group stayed for some more days. The city contrasted with others in the region due to its economic indices, volume of traffic, number of people, vibrant trade and works all around. The hotels were almost all full.
The explanation is that that is where Serra dos Carajás is located, where mining company Vale explores the largest iron ore mine in the world, in an enormous hole opened in the side of the mountain, capable of producing 120 million tonnes of iron ore a year. The city arose due to the mine and lives off it.
Despite the mine showing great devastation, it has helped preserve the 412,000 hectares of Carajás National Forest, where it is located. According to the mining manager at the enterprise, Fernando Carneiro, The company’s activities cover just 2.5% of the area preserved. "In the surrounding areas [around the forest], there are only farms," he added.
In fact, along the highways of Pará, little native vegetation is seen. The cattle farms cover a good part of the landscape. It may seem exaggerated to say that "cattle has eaten the woods", but that is part of what happened. In the 1970s, the government of Brazil provided incentives to the colonisation and development of agricultural activities. The model failed, but the devastation remained and the region became a symbol of disorganised occupation and exploration.
One example is Serra Pelada, nearby. In the 1980s, the site attracted thousands of Brazilians, especially from the Northeast, affected by the gold fever. Brazilians over thirty certainly remember the images of the human anthill that the largest open-air mine in the world, immortalized in the lenses of photographer Sebastião Salgado.
The mine died and the old, deep dig became a calm lake. Gold is currently sought there by Canadian mining company Colossus. Although the company has established an agreement with Coomigasp, a mining cooperative that has the rights to exploration of the mine, a quick walk around the old village where some of the original miners live shows sadness and aggression.
A person who knows the history of the site well is Curionópolis deputy mayor Iraídes Campos, the daughter of a miner who has lived there since 1981. "Mining is a fever," she said. She says that the situation has calmed down in recent years, but that in southern Pará it is always good to follow things with great care, as state presence is small and conflicts for possession of land and natural resources are many.
Following along the PA-150, to Marabá, there is a monument reminding travellers of that. It marks the site of the massacre of Eldorado dos Carajás, in 1996, when 19 Landless Movement members were killed in a conflict with the Military Police.
Marabá is the largest city in the region and one of the ones that grows most in the state, boosted by activities like livestock farming, mining and ironworks. It has a privileged location, at the site where Araguaia and Tocantins rivers meet, and watching the sunset on its beaches is a unique experience. The city itself, however, is ugly and the constant detours caused by road works make the traffic chaotic.
After sleeping at Hildas hotel, too simple, but managed by friendly people, the group finally headed onto the Trans-Amazonian. From then on, it would be almost 2,000 kilometres of holes, dust and sweat.
*Translated by Mark Ament
