A roadtrip, of sorts
I got in the van with absolutely no idea of what to expect during my trip to the South of Para, and I am relatively certain that it changed my perspective on development and social organization in Brazil entirely. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it might take years for this trip to sink in completely and for me to actually comprehend what I have seen here.

We began our journey by driving to the Tucurui Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world. It is really is overwhelming to see the ways in which humans can alter and control something has huge as a tributary here in the Amazon...the Tucurui Dam is able to produce 8370 MW of energy and even that amount pales in comparison to the 11232 MW that the Belo Monte is projected to produce post construction. The major driving force behind the construction of large damming projects in Brazil is the aluminum production here. 1.5% of total energy consumed in Brazil is done so my Albras, the company that produces aluminum from bauxite. Belo Monte is basically being created for Albras, but when I visited Albras I realized that the corporation actually has the only water treatment facility in the area so that it can produce clean water for the surrounding region and it has a waste treatment facility which the government does not provide. While the energy consumption is outrageous and while there are myriad issues with these damming projects that actually have relatively viable solutions, we do need aluminum production and Albras does a great job of being energy efficient.
Post Tucurui, we visited a Colonos ranch (colonos are those who came to occupy land after PIN to receive free land for making it productive) and were able to assess the economic value of their various agricultural and ranching practices. Land rights in Brazil are really interesting because only 5% is actually owned privately. The rest is all governmental land, of which the government gives out legal rights to those who agree to make it productive. If the land is not productive for 6 months, then technically the government can take the land back and redistribute it, unless the land is marked as legal reserve and then it can remain forested. This sets up a really interesting scenario because currently Brazil is being pressured by the international community to reforest land. However, they wanted to develop the Amazon to protect it from being taken over during World War II so now rural workers who were told to deforest the area are being told to reforest it and aren't getting compensated by the government. The social problems that stem from this are astronomical, which led to the MST movement in Brazil. Since the issues with MST are so intense, I think I'll leave my description of them and my time living with them for another day, especially since this has already gotten my head spinning again...

Some friends and I visiting a Mexican restaurant in Brazil, of course