Violence and Illegal Deforestation: The Crimes of “Environmental Militias” in the Amazon Forest

Q1 Social Sciences

Capitalism, Nature, Socialism Pub Date : 2021-11-12 DOI:10.1080/10455752.2021.1980817

Luiz Enrique Vieira DE Souza, Marcelo Fetz, Bruna Pastro Zagatto, Nataly Sousa Pinho

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引用次数: 8

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents a conceptual definition of the “environmental militias,” which are criminal networks responsible for the rampant increase of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. We demonstrate how they combine violence and technology to reinforce the economic interests of agribusiness, illegal mining and logging sectors, providing all the logistic chain that interconnects such illegal activities and the global market. We argue that since the election of Jair Bolsonaro “environmental militias” have not only been supported by the president’s discourse, but also by federal institutions and government programs negatively impacting the Brazilian environmental legislation, reducing monitoring, control and surveillance of environmental assets and the power of institutions responsible for demarcating Indigenous Lands. This article demonstrates the struggle of the Brazilian federal government against scientific data related to deforestation and the increase in human caused fires in the Amazon region. Environmental concern based on scientific criteria has been redefined as “leftist ideology” and the government replaced specialized technicians by military members with no expertise in environmental monitoring or oversight institutions. Finally, we critically analyze market discourses on sustainability by understanding them as corporative reputational strategies rather than effective commitment with the preservation of the Amazon Forest.

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暴力和非法砍伐森林：亚马逊森林中的“环境民兵”罪行

摘要本文提出了“环境民兵”的概念定义，即对巴西亚马逊地区森林砍伐猖獗负有责任的犯罪网络。我们展示了他们如何将暴力和技术结合起来，以加强农业综合企业、非法采矿和伐木部门的经济利益，提供将这些非法活动与全球市场联系起来的所有物流链。我们认为，自Jair Bolsonaro当选以来，“环境民兵”不仅得到了总统言论的支持，而且得到了联邦机构和政府项目的支持，这些项目对巴西的环境立法产生了负面影响，减少了监测，对环境资产的控制和监督以及负责标定土著土地的机构的权力。这篇文章展示了巴西联邦政府反对与亚马逊地区森林砍伐和人为火灾增加有关的科学数据的斗争。基于科学标准的环境问题已被重新定义为“左派意识形态”，政府用没有环境监测或监督机构专业知识的军人取代了专业技术人员。最后，我们批判性地分析了关于可持续性的市场话语，将其理解为公司声誉战略，而不是保护亚马逊森林的有效承诺。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Capitalism, Nature, Socialism Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： CNS is a journal of ecosocialism. We welcome submissions on red-green politics and the anti-globalization movement; environmental history; workplace labor struggles; land/community struggles; political economy of ecology; and other themes in political ecology. CNS especially wants to join (relate) discourses on labor, feminist, and environmental movements, and theories of political ecology and radical democracy. Works on ecology and socialism are particularly welcome.