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URBAN-RURAL MIGRATION, LIVELIHOOD CHANGE AND
CULTURAL IDENTITY AMONG SMA|7LHOLDER
POPULATIONS IN WESTERN PARA, BRAZIL

presented by

TRILBY MACDONALD

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URBAN-RURAL MIGRATION, LIVELIHOOD CHANGE AND CULTURAL
IDENTITY AMONG SMALLHOLDER POPULATIONS IN WESTERN PARA,
BRAZIL
By

Trilby MacDonald

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
Geography

2010

ABSTRACT
URBAN-RURAL MIGRATION, LIVELIHOOD CHANGE AND CULTURAL:
IDENTITY AMONG SMALLHOLDER POPULATIONS IN WESTERN PARA,
BRAZIL
By
Trilby MacDonald

My research examines why some smallholder farmers in the Brazilian Amazon are
leaving agriculture and migrating large urban centers, and then returning to rural and
peri-urban areas. My secondary research question explores to what extent identification
with rural lifeways may play a part in influencing return migration. To understand why
smallholders migrate, I studied migrants in three communities in the Tapajés National
Forest (FLONA), in Para, and a recently formed neighborhood of former agriculturalists
from the FLONA on the outskirts of Alter do Chao, a peri-urban community. I used a
mixed methods research methodology to gather my data.

My informants cited the hope of finding employment and furthering their
educations as the primary pull factors to urban centers. Lack of basic infrastructure was
the primary push factor for leaving the countryside. Return migrants cited lack of
satisfactory employment opportunities, violence and poor quality of life as the primary
push factors for leaving the cities. Pull factors to rural areas included quality of life,
education and employment. While the most popular destinations for return migrants have
superior infrastructure and economies, most return migrants’ incomes had either
remained stagnant or deteriorated, however the majority felt that their quality of life was

significantly improved in rural areas.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My journey to MSU was a long and circuitous one, and there were many people who,
consciously or not, encouraged me along the way. My love of Brazil began as a
freshman at Bard College when my friend Paxton Winters played one of his favorite
albums for me (about a hundred times), a compilation of 1960’s tropicalia music from
Brazil. I knew instantly that wherever these sounds were coming from was where I
wanted to be. I looked into study abroad programs and found one in the Amazon through
the School for International Training. Before I knew it I was floating down the Tapajos
River with Dr. Bill Overal, the world’s foremost expert on Amazonian butterflies, and
one of the greatest tour guides and story tellers of all time. He led our small group of
students on many wonderful adventures during those months, and continued to be an
advisor and friend to me during my subsequent years in northern Brazil.

I also have Bill to thank for a life changing introduction. He invited Dr. Patricia
Shanley, an American ethnobotanist, to present to our class as part of a guest lecture
series. Dr. Shanley studies the role of non timber forest products in the livelihood
strategies of traditional, forest-based communities in the Amazon. One of the principal
objectives of her research and the many groundbreaking publications she has produced
for both forest people and urban audiences, is to show the economic and cultural value of
the standing forest as compared to money earned from selling timber. I was profoundly

inspired by her work, as well as her partnership with women’s activist Sister Lydia

iii

Constantina da Silva. The now deceased Sister Lydia, or Irma Lydia, as she was known,
was a nun from the Sisters of the Good Shepherd who used liberation theology and the
teachings of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire as tools to empower struggling peasants to
improve their lives. I did my independent research project with Irma Lydia and the
women’s association she led in Nova Timboteua.

The small contribution I was able to make as a student to these wonderful
women’s work did not satisfy me, and I wanted to do more. Following my graduation, I
decided to make a documentary about Irma Lydia, Dr. Shanley and their efforts to further
women’s empowerment and environmental conservation in the Brazilian Amazon. After
completing this film, I lived Brazil for four years and worked for much of that time for
Dr. Shanley at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), in Belém. Dr.
Shanley mentored and encouraged me and everyone who worked with her, and I remain
deeply inspired by the love, generosity and fight that she brings to all that she does on
behalf of forests and people worldwide. She supported me through my search for a
graduate program, helped me to articulate my thesis topic, and offered insight as I
grappled with my ideas. For this I will always be grateful.

When I decided to go back to school I instantly thought of Dr. Robert Walker,
whom I had first met during my study abroad program in 1996, and had run into again
while working for CIFOR. When we first met he tried to convince me to pursue graduate
studied in MSU’s geography department. Eleven years later, after a long search and
much correspondence with both he and his wife and colleague Dr. Cynthia Simmons, 1
finally took him up on it. Dr. Walker had been right all along, MSU did indeed have the

best program for me. I am very grateful both to him and to Dr. Simmons for their initial

iv

encouragement and advocacy, and the excellent instruction I later received as Dr.
Simmons’ student at MSU.

I want to thank my advisor Dr. Antoinette WinklerPrins for her belief in my work,
and her engagement and accessibility throughout my research. Despite her very busy
schedule, Dr. WinklerPrins always made time to review, critique and discuss my work,
and her long years studying Caboclos in the Amazon gave her a unique insight into my
research topic which was extremely valuable as I formulated my ideas. I want to thank
my committee member Dr. Kyle Evered for his constructive criticism of my writing and
for his help in reframing my research questions. His theory of ecological identity was
particularly influential on the way I analyzed my data and understood how Caboclos may
relate to the environment. I want to thank my committee‘member Dr. Laurie Medina for
her thorough reading of my work on identity, and for questioning some of my theories
and conclusions. The close analysis she gave my research challenged me to make it
stronger and I am grateful for the time and effort she encouraged me to devote to this
portion of the thesis. Thanks in part to her criticism I am most proud of chapter four.

I want to thank the many people who offered me the benefit of their long years
studying, working, and living in Para through hundreds of hours of conversation and
companionship in the field. I want to thank my friend Brenda Balletti for her friendship
and insight over the past five years. We lived together in Belem and again during our
fieldwork in Alter do Chao, and spent many hours trading stories and talking about our
research. The researchers and community organizers at Saude e Alegria in Santarém

were tremendously helpful to me in choosing field sites and understanding the history of

the region. In particular, I want to thank community organizer Natalino Alves de Sousa,

whose wisdom and humor made even the darkest stories amusing. Natalino introduced
me to the Castro family who offered me friendship, shelter and research assistance while
in 8ro Jorge.

I want to thank Inacio for his friendship, his beautiful home on the hill, and for
introducing me to his family in Braganga. Maria and Abrao taught me much about
community leadership and devotion to family. Deusiane opened up her home to me, and
with three little kids and an absentee husband showed me what it is to have grace under
pressure.

.I want to thank my parents, John and Robin MacDonald. My father has been a
tremendous source of support and encouragement throughout my life, whose ethic of
hard work and responsibility has inspired me to do my very best. My mother has been
my closest ally throughout my ups and downs as an expat, a single lady, and a graduate
student, and I know I can count on her for anything.

And finally, I want to thank my husband and best friend, Tomm Becker, whose
love, patience and devotion to me throughout the arduous process of writing this thesis

while working full time never ceases to amaze me.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................. x
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................... xi
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS .................................................................... xii
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Problem statement ........................................................................... I
1.1 Research questions ........................................................................... 7
1.2 Research methodology ...................................................................... 8
1.3 Thesis structure and chapter summaries ................................................ 12
CHAPTER 2

SIT UATING PEOPLE AND PLACES ALONG THE TAPAJOS RIVER

2.0 Introduction .................................................................................. 15
2.1 Geography of Santarém ................................................................... 16
2.2 Secondary Research Sites ................................................................. 21
2.3 Brief History of Colonization of the Region ............................................ 24
2.4 Caboclos .................................................................................... 28
2.5 Colonos ...................................................................................... 30
2.6 Economic History of Santare’m ........................................................... 31
2.7 The TapajOs National Forest (FLONA) ................................................. 34
2.8 Land tenure in the FLONA ............................................................... 36
2.9 Conclusion. . . . .. ............................................................................ 37
CHAPTER 3

SHIPTING LIVELIHOODS AND MIGRATION PATTERS OF SMALLHOLDERS IN
NORTHWEST PARA

3.0 Introduction ................................................................................. 38
3.1 Migration: Background and regional trends ............................................ 39
3.2 Fluctuatin g Economies Demand Complex Livelihood Strategies ................... 43
3.3 S50 Jorge: Migrant Colony in the FLONA ............................................. 47
3.4 Urban to rural migration .................................................................. 52
3.5 Alter do Chao: Caribbean of the Amazon ............................................... 55
3.6 Conclusion .................................................................................. 63

vii

CHAPTER 4
BACK TO THE FUTURE: RETURN MIGRATION AS AN AFFIRMATION OF
NATIVE AMAZONIAN IDENTITIES

4.0 Introduction ................................................................................. 67
4.1 Caboclo Migration Patterns and Livelihood Strategies ............................... 67
4.2 Theoretical Insights into Identity Formation .......................................... 77
4.3 Returning to Cultural Roots in the Rural Zone ......................................... 81
4.4 Indigenous Resistance Communities .................................................... 83
4.5 Braganca .................................................................................... 87
4.6 Conclusion .................................................................................. 93
CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

5.0 Study Summary ............................................................................. 97
5.1 Key Findings ................................................................................ 99
5.2 Policy Recommendations and Areas for Future Research ........................... 102
APPENDIX: SURVEY INSTRUMENT ....................................................... 105
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................. 1 l3

viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.0 Education and quality of life in Alter do Chao versus the FLONA ........ 60

Table 3.1 Push-pull factors behind migration choices in Alter do Chao ............... 62

ix

LIST OF FIGURES

Images in this thesis are presented in color.

Figure 1.0: Map of South America with the Amazon region highlighted .......................... 4
Figure 2.0: Map of the Amazon region with study area highlighted ......................... 16

Figure 2.1: Map of conservation units in the municipality of Belterra, including all
communities in the Tapajés National Forest ..................................................... 20

ABBREVIATIONS

FLONA:
Floresta Nacional de TapajOs (TapajOs National Forest)

IBAMA:
Brazilian Institute for Natural Resources and the Environment

ITERPA:
Para Land Institute

NGO:
Non governmental organization

NTFP:
Non timber forest product PAC: Programa de Aceleracao de Crecimento, or
Accelerated Development Program.

PDN 1:
First National Development Plan

PIB:
Produto Interno Bruto, or Gross National Product

Promanejo:
Project for the Sustainable Forest Management in Amazonia, is a project created
by PPG7: (Pilot Program for the Protection of Tropical Forests)

SPEVA:
Superintendency for Economic Valorization of Amazonia

SUDAM:
Superintendency for Economic Development of Amazonia

UFPA:
Federal University of Para

xi

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Bolsa Familia:
Family Fund, a federal public assistance program granting needy families a sum
of money for each young child in the household.

Bolsa Escola:
School Fund, a federal public assistance program aimed at improving school
attendance by providing needy families with money for each child in school who
would otherwise work.

Bolsa Natalidade:
Fund for Newborns, federal public assistance money donated as a lump sum for
each child born into an underprivileged family.

Casa Propria:
Own Your Home, a federal program that donates small, cinderblock houses to the
poor and provides money for basic furniture and household supplies.

Caboclo:
In the Amazon, Caboclos were originally described as semi acculturated Indians.
Later, they evolved into the traditional peasantry of Amazonia, a people of mixed
European, African and Native Amerindian descent. The term Caboclo is used
throughout Brazil.

Campesino:
A peasant farmer.

Colono:
Landless peasant colonists from Brazil’s northeast region who migrated to the
Amazon to settle and farm the frontier.

Colonia:
Colono agricultural settlements.

Drogas do sertao:
Non timber forest products such as vanilla, cloves and sarsaparilla that were

harvested and exported by early Portuguese settlers in Para.

Farinha:
Coarse flour made from manioc root and the staple starch for the Amazon region.

xii

Favela:
Shanty town without government services that exists within the limits of a larger
city.

Gaucho:
White, middle class farmer from Rio Grande do Sul who have established large
cattle ranches and grain plantations in the Amazon.

Guerra ao Barbaro:
The War Against Barbarism, from 1808 to 1831, was a mandate from the
Portuguese Crown stating that any Indian captured by a colonist could legally be
made his slave for fifteen years.

Hectare:
2.47 acres

Luz para Todos:
Federal Light for All Program providing electricity to rural villages across Brazil.

Munduruku:
Indian tribe native to Para and the ancestral tribe of the village of Braganca.

Patr'ao:
Wealthy farmer or extractivist who employs others

Pau rosa:
Rosewood, one of Brazil’s major commodities during colonization.

Pescadore artesenal:
Traditional family fisherman

Pimenta do reino:
Black Pepper

Projeto Saude e Alegria:
Health and Happiness Project, an NGO based in Santarém

Quilombo:
A village settled by quilobolas, descendents of African slaves who escaped
bondage and founded independent communities throughout Brazil.

Quilombola:

Descendent of fugitive African slaves who settled in hundreds of villages, or
quilombos, across Brazil.

xiii

Ribeirinho:
A native Amazonian, or Caboclo, who lives on the riverside whose livelihood
consists of fishing, hunting, gathering and small scale agriculture.

Sertiio:
Semi-arid grassland, similar to the North American savanna, typical of Brazil’s
northeast region.

Seringa havea:
Latex from the seringa tree that is tapped and used to produce rubber.

Seringueira:
Rubber tapper. Also an Amazonian traditional community whose main source of
income is raw rubber from the seringa tree.

Tarefa:
In Para, approximately four hectares of land. In the Northeast, there are
considered to be approximately 12 tarefas per hectare.

Tropas de resgate:
Raids of Indian villages by Portuguese settlers to capture Indian slaves to harvest

the drogas do sert'ao.

Varzeiro:
A native Amazonian, or Caboclo, who lives on the floodplain.

Varzea:
Seasonally flooded forest or floodplain.

xiv

URBAN-RURAL MIGRATION, LIVELIHOOD CHANGE AND CULTURAL
IDENTITY AMONG SMALLHOLDER POPULATIONS IN WESTERN PARA,
BRAZIL

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Problem Statement

For the second half of the 20th century, the predominant migration trend in the

Brazilian Amazon has been from rural to urban areas, as small farmers abandon
agriculture in favor of city life where they hope to find jobs, education and a more
prosperous future (Moran 1981; Perz 2002; Godfrey and Browder 2008). It has been
suggested by some that this is a natural evolutionary process as developing nations
transition from agrarian to industrial economies (Zelinsky 1971; Perz and Skole 2003).
While this theory may be true for some regions of the world, the Brazilian economy,
particularly in the Amazon region, is not yet equipped to provide jobs for its newly
urbanized population. As a result, favelas, or shanty towns, are spreading rapidly, and
crime is rising precipitously in urban centers (Preteceille and Valladores 1999; Silva,
Jailson de Souza e Barbosa, Jorge Luiz 2005; Pandolfi and Grynszpan 2007).

Since the 19903, urban to urban has replaced rural to urban as the most prominent
migration pattern in the region (Godfrey and Browder 2008). More recently, urban to
rural migration has also emerged as a trend. Apart from research on direct action land

reform (Alston et al. 2000; Simmons et a1. 2007, 2010), there are few if any studies of

this new phenomenon in the Brazilian Amazon. There are several possible factors
driving urban to rural migration. Conditions in the cities are overcrowded, dangerous,
and unsanitary, and the job market is oversaturated, particularly for unskilled labor.
Infrastructure has improved greatly in many small communities as electricity, roads and
expanded education services arrive. Brazil’s current President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva,
a founding member of the worker’s party (PT), draws his largest source of support from
the working poor. Although his policies favor large scale agricultural producers over
small producers, he remains popular among small producers because of his populist
policies focusing on public assistance programs, land redistribution and economic growth
(Schamis 2006). Government support helps families and retirees make ends meet and
may be partially responsible for securing these populations in rural areas (Conniff 1981;
and Teubal 2009).

Identification with the countryside and rural livelihoods may also have an
influence on some migrants’ decision to return, and coupled with increasing benefits,
may persuade others to remain who would have left. Cultural ecology and space and
place theory reveal how Amazonia’s historical peasantry, Caboclos, construct their
culture and livelihoods in relationship to their environments. Political ecology reveals
how Caboclo livelihood practices are changing in response to global market forces. In
contrast to contemporary livelihoods literature that cites compound livelihood strategies
incorporating agriculture, the recent phenomena of extractivism and wage labor have
developed in response to structural adjustment policies and economic trade liberalization
(Ellis 1998; Kay 2000), Caboclos have utilized this strategy for hundreds of years

(Wagley 1953; Parker 1985; Siren and Brondr’zio 2009). Caboclos have always been

influenced by the forces of global trade, and have created their own path between the
Western and indigenous economies and cultures of which they were born. Their skill set
is less suited to large cities where they must rely exclusively on cash income than to rural
and peri-urban areas where they can supplement wages and agricultural sales with natural
resources. Being culturally and economically oriented to the countryside, many believe
that quality Of life is better there. My research shows that considerations of quality of life
are key in migrants’ decisions to return to the countryside, and are seen as separate from
economic factors. Caboclo preference for rural lifestyles reveals their identification with
the countryside.

While government benefits, improved infrastructure and cultural identity are all
important factors in stabilizing rural communities, it is not clear that these will be enough
to maintain rural populations in the long term. Small scale agriculture is no longer
considered economically viable, and while rural economies are diversifying, there are
still few jobs available as compared to urban areas (Steward 2007). In order to survive in
this changing economy communities have to devise creative livelihood strategies that
include a variety of activities, including wage labor, subsistence agriculture, hunting and
gathering, and the sale of cash crops. Fortunately, the Caboclos are an extremely
versatile people, having successfully adapted to radical swings in the region’s economy
for hundreds of years.

In order to explain current migration trends it is necessary to understand their
historical antecedents, particularly how the Amazon region was settled, by whom, and for
what purposes. Since Brazil was first discovered for Europe in 1500 by Portuguese

explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral (Fig. 1.0), it has been fabled for its boundless economic

promise. Throughout the centuries, it has been viewed as the solution to a succession of
social, economic, and now, environmental problems by outsiders who covet its seemingly
infinite bounty of natural resources. It has seen many waves of migration in its 500 year
history, beginning with the early Portuguese colonists who came to enrich themselves
and later to colonize the frontier. Millions of slaves were brought to Brazil from Africa,
many thousands to the Amazon region, to harvest spices, oils, hardwoods and minerals

from the forests (Burns 1993).

Brazil and South America

 

 

Figure 1.0 Map of South America with the Amazon region highlighted, by Carolyn Fish.

The Franciscans and then the Jesuits came to save souls. In the late 19th and early 20th

centuries, tens of thousands came to the Amazon from the south and northeast of Brazil

to harvest latex from the rubber tree (Weinstein 1983; Hecht and Cockbum 1990). In the
19305, Japanese migrants escaping the overpopulation and economic stagnation in their
own country came to farm in the Amazon (Normano 1934; Hastings 1969; WinklerPrins
2006). In the 19603 and 1970s, landless peasants from the dry and contested lands of the
northeast were encouraged to settle in the tens of thousands in State Led Agrarian Reform
programs (Pacheco 2009). Through colonization programs, the government sought to
solve overpopulation and national security problems simultaneously, providing land to
the landless while solidifying control over the sparsely populated Amazonian frontier.
Following the end of these colonization programs, the region’s population continued to
soar, from 7.5 million in 1970, with 36% living in urban centers, to 22.4 million in 2004
(Celentano and Verr’ssimo 2007), with 73% of the population in urban centers (Ipea
2007). Government efforts to colonize the Amazon were poorly organized and doomed
to failure. Rapid urbanization of the region ensued as farmers saw that they were ill
equipped to establish themselves in the remote and densely forested frontier, and moved
into urban centers where they could find paid work.

In the last two decades, rural to urban gave way to urban— urban as the
predominant migration pattern for the region. Peasants who flowed steadily out of the
countryside and into major cities like Bele’m and Manaus in search of wage labor,
infrastructure and educational opportunities have begun to turn towards small and
midsized cities instead, where it is easier to acquire capital and there is less competition
for jobs (Browder and Godfrey 2008). Overcrowding and unemployment in cities and

the consolidation of arable land by large holders have fueled peasant—led agrarian reform

movements which have successfully taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of state
and privately owned land across the country (Hammond 2005; Simmons et. al 2010).

Amazonia’s historical peasantry does not generally engage in this kind of land
reform, however, and has historically been less inclined to move permanently to urban
centers than colonos, or colonists from the northeast, have been (Brondr’zio 2004; Walker
2004; Simmons et al. 2010). Many Caboclo settlements go back hundreds of years to
Indian villages, and residents are strongly connected to their ancestral lands. The
economic return of smallholder agriculture has rapidly diminished in recent years,
however, and increased hardships have driven more Caboclos to abandon agriculture and
move to urban centers. More recently, some are returning to rural and peri-urbanI
communities in the countryside. Government development programs have improved
infrastructure in many small towns and local econorrries are diversifying. Government
subsidies for the poor and the elderly have made it financially possible for some to live in
rural areas that would otherwise be forced live in cities. These urban to rural migrants
are the focus of my research.

Some believe that Caboclo culture will not survive in the modern era.
Deforestation, land concentration, globalization, vertically integrated agricultural markets
and economies of scale will all converge to displace Caboclos from their traditional
homes and make their complex livelihoods strategies obsolete. There is evidence to
suggest, however, that Caboclos’ adaptive, composite livelihood strategies involving

urban and rural components are highly successful in peri-urban and modernized rural

 

' 1 define peri-urban as an area which is relatively close to a large urban center and has a baseline Of
infrastructure such as transportation, electricity and schools, but retains many rural characteristics,
affording residents the ability to continue their extractivist livelihood practices as well as maintain
subsistence plots, or home gardens (WinklerPrins 2002).

areas where both elements are present. The proliferation of these areas coupled with
diversifying rural economies, improved education and growing pride in Caboclo culture
among the general population may in fact lead to a resurgence of Caboclo lifeways over

the next decades.

1.1 Research Questions

The primary question this thesis seeks to answer is: what are the push and pull
factors determining why traditional smallholder farmers, after migrating to cities, return
to live in rural areas? To understand why smallholders migrate, I studied three
communities in the Tapajés National Forest (FLON A), in Para, and a recently formed
neighborhood of former agriculturalists from the FLONA on the outskirts of Alter do
Chao, a peri-urban tourist town with rural and urban characteristics about 40 km outside
of the city of Santare’m. The communities of Alter do Chao and the FLONA are mostly
Caboclo, relatively easy to access and evidently connected by large numbers of migrants.

To analyze this question, I examined the general migration trends for the region
together with my informants’ migration history and the reasons they gave for their
migration choices. I compared my informants’ evaluations of their economic conditions
in the urban and rural areas where they have lived, and consider other factors such as how
they perceived their quality of life in the city versus the countryside. I then looked at the
ways in which traditional Caboclo livelihood strategies connect them to their
environment, and how my inforrrrants’ choice of location may reflect both a need and a

desire to practice a complex livelihood strategy.

These steps help me address my second research question: are Caboclo identities
embedded within a livelihood strategy linked to rural landscapes? To address this
question, I analyzed geographic cultural ecology and space and place theory, together

with qualitative data on Caboclo identity and culture.

1.2 Research Methodology

I used a mixed methods approach to my research, collecting a combination of
surveys, interviews and participant Observation (Bickman and Rog 1998; Yin 1998;
Suvedi and Morford 2003). By collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, I am
using a method called triangulation, which reduces the risk of biased assumptions or
limitations imposed by any one data collection method (Duffy 1987). No preference was
given to quantitative or qualitative research methods. Data gathered with both methods
provided equally valuable results and were employed based on their usefulness in

addressing the research questions (Oakley 1998).

My fieldwork was conducted between June 3rd and July 31, 2008, at several

locations within the state of Para. I conducted 50 surveys,2 over 60 hours of semi-
structured interviews, and several weeks of participant observation. All interviews were
conducted by myself in Portuguese, the official language of Brazil and in the Amazon. I
interviewed Caboclos and colonos, migrants and non migrants, small subsistence farmers,
mid-sized commercial farmers, academics from the Federal University of Para (UFPA),
researchers from the Emilio Goeldi Museum (a research institution), non governmental

organization (NGO) workers, most particularly the Projeto Sadde e Alegria (the Health

 

2 .
Two of these were unusable.

and Happiness Project) and community organizers. Participants were close to evenly
split between men and women participants, with 26 women and 27 men3 surveyed, and
32 men and 28 women interviewed.

Survey and interview questions4 covered similar topics including migration
history and motives. Surveys focused on specific details such as economic activities,
changes in economic status resulting from changes in activities and location, educational
background, use and knowledge of non timber forest products, property ownership, and
kinship ties. Interviews asked open ended questions on a variety of topics including
cultural identity, life goals, perceptions of success, livelihood strategies, family history
and reasons for migrating. Interviews with professionals covered large scale issues
related to shared research and work-related interests. Topics included regional
socioeconomic transition, popular social movements, differences in female versus male
migration patterns, urbanization and development, indigenous issues, Indian Resistance
communities, Caboclo populations in conservation units, economic return of extractivist-
related activities, economic return of agricultural production, and shifting rural and urban
population trends.

Surveys provided the most efficient means of obtaining quantitative, baseline
information about migration patterns, livelihoods and identity that I required to explain
migration patterns. While surveys are useful for collecting general information, they can
be a time consuming imposition for the participant, and do not foster a reciprocal or
friendly relationship between the researcher and the researched. When time and interest

permitted, I tried to make my surveys more enjoyable by turning them into conversations.

 

3 Several couples were surveyed together.
4 Survey and interview instruments are found in the appendix

Conversational surveys were more prolonged, and could lead to topics other than those I
had intended to study. As a result of this approach, about 25% of my surveys turned into
interviews. One advantage to this method was that it enabled me to establish a rapport
with the participants. They came to regard me as an individual and not simply a
technician, and greeted me warmly when I saw them again. Another advantage is that
these conversations taught me things about the participants that greatly informed the
baseline data I was collecting about them, and helped me to understand aspects of their
lives that I would not have considered addressing otherwise.

From my years working in Para I had a relatively large number of professional
contacts to assist in the direction of my research.5 For selecting research participants in
communities, I had few contacts and used a snowball sampling method (Patton 1990;
Heckathom 2002; Cloke et al. 2004). I found that using my personal contacts in Alter do
Chao and Santarém to facilitate initial introductions in Uniao, Sfio Jorge and Braganca
was the most practical and intuitive method for my research objectives. Snowball
sampling begins with one or more initial contacts that lead to other contacts. It is useful
for making connections in a close knit community where the researcher is a stranger
because it enables her to establish credibility as each introduction doubles as a form of
character reference. Snowball sampling feels more organic in practice, as each new

informant is related in some way to the previous one. The disadvantage to this method is

 

5 I have spent a significant amount of time living in the Amazon region of Brazil and this greatly facilitated
my research. I first went to the Brazilian Amazon as an undergraduate at Bard College for a semester
abroad with the School for International Training. I remained for the summer following the conclusion of
my course to research my thesis on Brazil’s timber industry, using the American-owned timber company
Amacol, in Portel, Para, as my case study for my Bachelor’s thesis. Following my graduation I returned
several times in connection with a documentary 1 produced and directed on local, women-led sustainable
development initiatives in Para. In 2003, I moved to Belém to distribute the documentary and was hired by
the Women of the Forest program at CIFOR. For three years I worked as the outreach and development
coordinator for that program, returning to the US. in 2007 to attend MSU.

10

that not all sectors of the society are measured equally. To compensate for this, I
deliberately sought potential informants on streets where I had no contacts. I had rrrixed
results with this method, as people were somewhat less receptive to my inquiries without
an introduction. 1 deliberately sought introductions to a diverse range of people and age
groups, and attempted to maintain an even ratio of men to women.

I attempted to engage in reflexivity and maintain an awareness of my positionality
relative to my subjects throughout the research process (Oakley 1998; Harding 2001;
Ramazanoglu and Holland 2002). I was receptive to personal questions from my subjects
within reason. I believe this transparency facilitated the research process by helping to
establish rapport and enabling my subjects to contextualize me. The exchange that came
from these relationships allowed the people I worked with to understand various things
about why I was doing research, including reasons for my interest in the subject of
migration, how I came to study Brazil, the generalities of my family background, and
why it would be considered culturally appropriate in the United States for a woman to
have a lifestyle like mine. Due to time constraints, this approach was applied more
consistently to interviews and participant observation than to surveys.

Participant observation enables the researcher to contextualize quantitative data
by gaining a more nuanced understanding of community dynamics and how culture is
expressed on a day to day level. DeWalt and DeWalt (2002) describe two kinds of
culture which must be noted in participant observation: the explicit, which can be named,
and the tacit, which is unconscious. Success in building rapport lies in the degree to
which the researcher embodies the tacit culture of the people she studies. Markers of

tacit culture include demonstrating the proper etiquette, fluency in the language, returning

11

research results and reflexivity. The years I spent living in Para facilitated my participant
Observation research enormously. Because of my fluency in Portuguese and familiarity
with the culture, I was able to make contacts easily. I attempted to maintain sensitivity to
my positionality while creating an atmosphere of friendliness and open exchange. I was
comfortable with the local dialect and could capture subtleties in conversation and social
dynamics. Finally, I gave copies of the surveys without names to the community
association leaders of each village I researched so that results would be returned to the
community.

I did not use focus groups, but if I were to pursue field research in the future, I
believe they would be extremely valuable in perfecting my survey instrument and
revealing important topics of study that I may have overlooked (Krueger and Casey
2000). Ideally focus groups can create a space where ideas can flow freely among
research subjects before the formalized research begins, revealing information that can
greatly enhance the effectiveness of the study. Focus groups should go beyond the target
study group to include a variety of stakeholders in the community who may influence the
situation under study. They are particularly useful in gathering data on marginalized
groups like women and indigenous populations who are typically not targeted by
generalized surveys and whose unique problems and perspectives as outsiders would

otherwise rarely be captured.

1.3 Thesis Structure and Chapter Summaries

This thesis is divided into four chapters and a conclusion. This introduction

provides an overview of the problem the thesis seeks to address, the research questions,

12

and research methodology. In Chapter Two I provide a description of the physical
geography of the TapajOs River region, a short history of its population, an overview of
the development of the regional economy since colonization and brief summaries of the
four small communities where my research took place. The history and geography of the
TapajOs National Forest is included. I discuss the impact of colonization and trade on
indigenous populations, and how Caboclo culture evolved out of these influences. I
outline federal development and colonization programs for the Amazon with
consideration to how these influenced settlement of the region.

In Chapter Three I offer a discussion of changing migration trends in the Brazilian
Amazon, particularly urban to urban and urban to rural patterns, with consideration to the
effect of government colonization and development programs on the growth and
distribution of the region’s population. Next, I consider factors contributing to the urban
to rural migration pattern evident in my study groups. Data in three study sites reflects
existing scholarship on flexible livelihood strategies of traditional smallholder farmers in
response to changing economic circumstances. I present evidence showing that the
livelihood strategies of the reverse migrants in my study have shifted from a basis in
subsistence agriculture and extractivism supplemented by wage labor, to a basis in wage
labor and government subsidies supplemented by agriculture and extractivism. The
chapter closes with a discussion of the expansion of industrialized, export-oriented
agriculture in the Amazon and its displacement of smallholder farmers, and how this has
led to an increasingly urban population of unskilled workers and potential shortages of

fresh produce in local markets in the future.

13

In this chapter I consider how the decision of some rural to urban migrants in
southwest Para to leave big cities and resettle in rural and peri-urban communities may be
driven by both economic considerations and a preference for rural lifeways. Using a
theoretical argument examining how identity may be derived from livelihood practices
and notions of place, I posit that the inability of some migrants to adapt to urban life may
be a reflection of their identification with the countryside and rural lifeways. I regard
Caboclo as an identity in formation, and how its increasing prevalence reflects growing
pride in Caboclo culture and livelihood practices. Using qualitative and quantitative data
from my study sites, I describe how tensions between traditional lifeways and modern
ambitions play out in smallholder migration patterns. Finally, I consider the Indian
Resistance community of Braganca and its efforts to revive its Munduruku identity as a
type of livelihood strategy designed to prevent further loss of its population to urban
centers.

In the Conclusion I reflect back on my study findings, highlighting key results. I
consider what my informants’ migration choices may say about the Amazon region’s
current state of development and how economic shifts may continue to influence
migration patterns and livelihood strategies for smallholders, particularly Caboclos. I

close with suggestions for future research.

14

CHAPTER TWO: Situating People and Places Along the Tapajés River

2.0 Introduction

The TapajOs River is lined with dozens of quiet villages where locals make their
living by fanning, fishing and extracting an array of foods and medicines from the forest.
Many of the villages have roots going back to indigenous communities and this rich
history is reflected in the livelihoods and cultural practices of their populations today. In
this chapter I will describe the physical geography of the region where two of the world’s
largest and least polluted rivers meet, the TapajOs and Amazon, and provide a brief
history of its population, the regional economy and the four small communities where my
research took place.

Alter do Chr’io is a popular tourist destination on the sandy banks of the TapajOs
River in the municipality of Santare’m, and was my primary research site (Fi g. 2.1). It has
become a magnet for farmers from traditional agricultural villages along the Tapajés, the
Amazon and the Arapiuns rivers who have come in search of education, wage labor and
basic infrastructure that offer the possibility of a better life. Not all of the agricultural
towns in the region are losing population, however. Some have managed to attract new
residents through a series of infrastructure and small scale development projects, as well
as government assistance programs for the poor. My study sites represent both the
feeder villages that typically lose population to Alter do Chao as well as those whose

populations have grown.

15

2.1 Geography of Santarém

The Tapajés River is 1,992 km long and is formed by the union of the Teles Pires
and the Juruena Rivers, in north-central Mato Grosso state. It winds northward through
the Mato Grosso plateau and forms the border first between the states of Mato Grosso
and Amazonas, and then between Para and Amazonas. It curves northeastward, crossing
Para, and joins the Amazon river in the front of the city of Santarém, and the two rivers
run side by side for several kilometers, one lazily swirling into the other, until they merge
and make their way as one river, the Amazon, to the Atlantic Ocean. For its last 160 km
the Amazon River is from 6 to 14 km wide, one shore often invisible from the other.

. .r

(7

Amazo Re

     

Figure 2.0 Map of the Amazon region with study area highlighted, by Carolyn Fish.

 

The TapajOs has clear, dark blue waters and is lined with fine white sand beaches,
making it one of the Amazon’s most beautiful rivers. Due to its low sediment load, it is
known as a ‘clear water’ river, and possesses a relatively low fish content as compared to
‘white water’ rivers like the Amazon, although it is richer in aquatic life than ‘black
water’ rivers (Moran 1993; WinklerPrins 1999).

The Amazon River is 6,712 km long, originating in the Peruvian Andes and
traversing through Peru and the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Para, passing around
Marajé Island before finally reaching the Atlantic. It is the largest river in the world in
terms of volume of water. During the rainy season when the Amazon floods the
surrounding plains it can be up to 45 km wide. Its turgid waters are rich in nutrients and
biotic matter from the silt runoff from the Andes Mountains, making it ideal fish habitat.
The Amazon floodplain has fertile soils suitable for permanent agriculture. Researchers
believe the region has been densely populated by Indian tribes for thousands of years, and
that current population numbers are far below those of pre-colonial times (Roosevelt
1989; Denevan 1992).

The TapajOS and Amazon rivers meet in the municipality of Santarém, in an area
known as the lower Amazon drainage basin. Much of the municipality of Santarém and
its surrounding area are characterized by whitewater floodplain, or vdrzea. The Varzea
has fertile soils that are renewed each year by the deposition of rich sediments from the
Amazon river (WinkerPrins 2002). Consequently, the Varzea is suitable for permanent
agriculture and was densely populated in pre-colonial times. It continues to be the source
of many of the fruits and vegetables sold in Santarém. The municipality of Santarém is

22,887 square km and as of 2008, contained a population of 278,118 people, 195,252 of

17

which are in the urban center (29.8%) (IBGE 2008; SEPOF 2007). The south, south east
and south west of the municipality of Santarém is characterized by terra firme, or dry,
upland forest, where the majority of nutrients is stored in the plant mass and only permits
rotational, slash and burn agriculture. The average temperature varies from 25° to 28°C,
with a relative humidity of 86%. Annual rainfall is 1920 mm, with higher intensity
during the rainy season, from December to May, when the average monthly rainfall
varies from 170 mm to 300 mm. The dry season is from June to November, and average
rainfall drops to less than 60 mm per month (Official site of the Municipality of
Santarém, Para: http://www.santarem.pa.gov.br/conteudo/7itemzl l6&fa=62
&PHPSESSID=1bdbeposhk3h9f52tj1rvnoi83, last accessed 2/ 14/2010). The city of
Santarém is known to locals as the “Pearl of the TapajOs”. Situated at the confluence of
the Tapajés and the Amazon rivers, it has rich soils and an abundance of fish and forest
products and has been continuously settled for eight thousand years (Roosevelt 1999).
My primary study site is Alter do Chao, a popular tourist destination in the
municipality of Santarém about 40 km from the city of Santarém. Alter do Chao is the
oldest district of Santarém and was raised to Village level in 1758, a few months prior to
the city of Santarém. It grew out of a Borari Indian village where Jesuit missionaries
established the Our Lady of Purification mission. Henry Walter Bates, in his seminal
work “A Naturalist on the River Amazons” (2004), describes his visit to the village in
1852. He attributed the name Alter do Chao, which he translates as Altar of the Earth, to
a flat topped hill near the village, shaped like the high altar in Roman Catholic churches.
In fact, the town’s namesake is a small city in Portugal. Bates provides us with one of the

earliest written descriptions of Alter do Child “The village is peopled almost entirely by

18

semi-civilized Indians, to the number of 60 to 70 families, and the scattered houses are
arranged in broad streets on a strip of greensward, at the foot of a high, gloriously
wooded ridge.” (214). Bates was so pleased by the beautiful scenery and abundant
wildlife that he spent four months collecting there. The village itself he characterized as
“a neglected, poverty-stricken place”. He calls the tribe that originally inhabited the
village the Burarr’, or Borari, as it is currently known. The Burarr’ were hostile to the
Portuguese and during a revolt of the native under classes against the European elite,
known as the Cabanagem,6 many Burari went to fight in Santarém. Most lost their lives
in the slaughter, and for this reason there were virtually no older men in the village.
Bates groups Alter do Chao together with all ‘semi-civilized’ Indian villages in that they
had in fact lost their civilization and industriousness as a result of colonization.

Almeida de Filho (2003) describes the largely deculturated Indians living on the
riversides in colonial days as “tapuios”, the specific Indian tribes having fled to the
riverheads. Today, the Borari have revived their traditional dances the Curimbo and
Cordao do Tupi and celebrate a popular festival in their name. This effort is part of a
larger Borari movement to reclaim their indigenous identities and assert ownership rights
to their ancestral lands. There will be a further discussion of this movement in Chapter
Four

Alter do Chao is an Area of Environmental Preservation (ACE), located between
the Tapajés National Forest (FLONA) to the east and the city of Santarém to the west
(Fig. 2.1). It is characterized by dense, low lying terra firrne forest, in contrast to the

scrubby, dry forest of Santarém, and is touted as the “Caribbean of the Amazon” for its

 

6 The Cabanagem (1835-40) was an armed revolt of blacks, Indians and Caboclos against the white
Portuguese political elite. For more information see Paolo, 1986. A Cabanagem: A Luta Popular da
AmazOnia (The Cabanagem: the commoners war in Amazona). Belem, Para: EdicOes CEJUP.

19

stunning beaches, rolling hills, emerald lake and exuberant wildlife. Alter do Chao’s

physical beauty and relative accessibility has made it one of Amazonia’s best known

Study Area: Tapajos River and Municipality of Belterra

 

Figure 2.] Map of study area in the municipality of Belterra, including all
communities in the Tapajés National Forest, by Carolyn Fish.

tourist destinations. It is famous locally for its bars and beaches, and nationally and
internationally as a point of departure for ecotourism and cultural tourism along regional
lakes, rivers and Varzea. The town boasts a relatively high level of infrastructure for the

region. There is hourly bus service to the city of Santarém, which is approximately 40

20

km distant along a paved road. Most houses have electricin and running water, there is a
health post with ambulance service to the hospital in Santarém, and public education
from first grade through high school.7 The resident population is about 6,000, doubling
on the weekends and swelling to approximately 50,000 residents and visitors in the high
season. Alter do Chao has become a magnet for migrants from across the municipalities
of Santarém and Belterra who are abandoning small scale agriculture in remote villages
in favor of the improved infrastructure and possibility of wage labor offered in this mid-

sized town. A more detailed analysis of this phenomenon is offered in Chapter Three.

2.2 Secondary Research Sites

In addition to Alter do Chao, I have conducted research in three secondary
research sites in the FLONA, located in the municipality of Belterra, which was carved
out of the center of the municipality of Santarém and is surrounded by it on three sides
(Fig. 2.1). These sites were chosen because they are representative of villages from the
region who have lost population to Alter do Chao, and are now taking steps to slow
outmigration.

$50 Jorge, an agricultural community about 20 miles south of Alter do Chao,
about 3 miles west of the BR 163 highway, is the oldest of four ‘nontraditional’
communities inside the FLONA, meaning that the majority of inhabitants is not native to
Para. The town’s original settlers were colonists, or colonos, from Ceara and Maranh'ao,

in Brazil’s Northeast, who arrived to extract rosewood (pau-rosa) in the 19203. In the

 

7 The Brazilian educational system roughly parallels that of the United States. Children are required to
enter school by the first grade or ‘series’ at the age of seven, although some children begin to attend day
schools by the age of three. Students complete the 8lh series at the age of 14 and go on to the equivalent of
high school for three years. Those students intending to go on to college must take the ‘vestibular’ entrance
exam, for which year-long preparatory courses are offered by private institutions.

21

early 19703, $50 Jorge received an influx of new inhabitants, mainly workers on the BR
163 highway (Fig. 2.1) and colonists settled by INCRA (The National Institute for
Colonization and Agrarian Reform). Because of its well defined cattle and agricultural
profile, population growth and urban infrastructure, 850 Jorge was elevated to district
status. The settlement pattern in 850 Jorge is different from that of riverine communities.
Lots are larger- up to 100 hectares, although IBAMA does not allow for more than from
2 to 4 hectares to be cultivated at any time, depending upon the size of the family. If the
land was cleared prior to the creation of the FLONA, it can be used for pasture. Most
families maintain small herds, the largest of which is approximately 120 heads. Séio
Jorge encompasses 15,278.98 hectares, and its area includes the other nontraditional
communities of the FLONA, Nova Vida, Nossa Senhora de Nazare’ e Santa Clara (Soares
2006).

Infrastructure has improved in 350 Jorge in recent years and this has attracted new
residents. The school has been expanded through the first year of high school, and the
town possesses a water tower and a dam that generates electricity, both built with support
from the Santarém-based NGO Projeto Saude e Alegria (Health and Happiness Project).
850 Jorge has a health post, public phones and cell phone reception, postal service and
regular bus service to the cities of Santarém and Belterra along the neighboring BR 163
highway, as well as to several of the villages in the FLONA. The population was 223
families in 2007 (Soares 2006). An internal census conducted by the local health clinic
put the number much higher, at 320 families as of July, 2008. According to the

coordinator of the health clinic, the difference in estimates is due in part to rapid in-

22

migration, and in part to deficiencies in the census led by IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro de
Manejo Ambiental, or the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources).

Piquiatuba is a traditional agricultural and extractivist community on the Tapaj63
River, about 15 miles south of Alter do Chao. While I was there in July of 2008,
electrical wires were being installed though the federal Luz Para Todos (Light for All)
project. Education goes through the first year of high school, and construction was being
completed on a new building that would permit the high school to extend through the
final year. There is a public telephone, cell phone service, a radio station, a health post,
and a computer and intemet learning center under construction by the Saude e Alegria
Project. The community owns a boat that makes weekly trips to the city of Santarém, and
there is a dirt road with bus service to the city and neighboring towns during the dry
summer months. Piquiatuba has an active community association and youth group,
though the success of their endeavors is uneven. The community is known for the Acar’
Festival, an annual celebration of regional food, dance, music and crafts that draws many
hundreds of visitors from villages throughout the FLONA. The Promanejo8 project in
conjunction with IBAMA sponsored two recent censuses. The first in 2003 registered 70
families, and in 2007, registered 42 families. The town of Piquiatuba believed the
census was flawed and in 2008 conducted an internal census which registered 70

families. Jeraldo, the president of the Community Association of Piquiatuba, believes the

 

8 ProManejo — Project for the Sustainable Forest Management in Amazonia, is a project created by PPG7 (Pilot
Program for the Protection of Tropical Forests) as a pilot research experiment and is administered by the Forest
Directorate of IBAMA (Brazilian Environmental Institute) and the Secretariat of Biodiversity and the National Forest
Program. in the Ministry of the Environment. The objective of ProManejo is to support the development and adoption
of sustainable forest management systems in Amazonia. with an emphasis on timber products. via strategic actions and
exemplary demonstration projects. Component 4 seeks to support the conservation of the Tapaj63 National Forest
through community development projects, and generating model case studies for other national forests in Amazonia.
Traditional populations are the target participants for these programs. which are designed to generate income and
improve standards of living. Component 4 works through four sub-components: Community Forest Management;
Control, Vigilance and Oversight; Ecotourism and Environmental Education.

23

reason for this discrepancy is that the 2007 census counted all families living together in
the same house as one family. Jeraldo affirms that the population is not decreasing as in
many communities in the FLONA, and in fact several families who had left have recently
returned (see Chapters 3 and 4).

Braganca is a small village on the Tapaj63 River approximately 5 miles south of
Piquiatuba. All village members are part of the extended Campos family. The Campos
family is descended from the Munduruku tribe, which has lived along the Tapaj63 River
for thousands of years. The 95 year old matriarch of the family is a full blooded
Munduruku Indian and native Munduruku speaker, though she did not pass fluency in the
language on to her descendents. Like the Borari in Alter do Chao, the Munduruku of
Braganca are part of the Indian Resistance movement. They have been through the
official evaluation process and are awaiting a verdict from the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(FUNAI) to finalize the demarcation of their traditional lands. Braganca has been
steadily losing population in the last decade. In 2000, their population was 200, and as of
July, 2008 it was 75 ( Bauch, unpublished). They are hoping that government benefits
for indigenous populations, cultural tourism and international development programs will
help them to bolster their economy and keep young people from leaving. There will be a

greater discussion of the Indian resistance movement in Chapter Four.

2.3 Brief History of Colonization of the Region
In the Joao Fona Cultural Center of Santarém, pottery shards, funerary urns, tools
and other relics from indigenous populations living in and around the city of Santarém

describe an advanced civilization that built structures and massive earthworks, practiced

24

sedentary agriculture and changed the landscape in significant ways. The oldest shards
were discovered by Anna Roosevelt from the Natural History Museum in Chicago and
Silvia Maranca from the University of 8510 Paulo and date between seven and eight
thousand years ago, three thousand years before the earliest Mayan, Incan or Aztec
artifacts. Archeological research proves that Santarém was the center of a complex
civilization known as the Tupaiucu nation, comprised of Tupaius Indians and six sister
tribes, which extended well beyond the present city limits (Amorim 2000, Roosevelt
1999(a)). Roosevelt believes European colonization fractured and scattered these highly
developed societies, setting indigenous civilization back four thousand years (Roosevelt
1989).

The first written mention of the region was by Friar Gaspar de Carvajal, the
official chronicler of the voyage of Portuguese explorer Francisco Orellana, when his
crew raided Tupaius Indian maize fields in 1542. Carvajal describes areas along the
fertile Amazonian floodplain where “there was not from village to village, in most cases,
a crossbow shot, and the village that was farthest removed was not half a league away,
and there was one settlement that stretched for five leagues without there intervening any
space from house to house.” (Carvajal 1934: 198). The Portuguese made no further
inroads in Eastern Amazonia during the 16th century, while the Dutch and the English
established friendly trading relations with the Indians in Amapa state, Marajo Island and
along the Amazon up to its confluence with the Tapaj63 river. Portuguese interest in the
region was renewed in the second half of the 17th century, and they moved to assert their

rights to the Amazon region according to the Treaty of Tordesillas signed with Spain in

25

1494.9 By 1634, the Portuguese had expelled the Dutch and the English and consolidated
their control of Eastern Amazonia. Once their hegemony had been established, the
Portuguese focused their attention on extracting non timber forest products such as
vanilla, cloves and sarsaparilla, known as the drogas d0 serta'o (Amorim 2000). Unlike
the Dutch and the English, the Portuguese were not interested in establishing friendly
trade relations with the Indians and regularly raided Indian villages to capture slaves in
expeditions, ironically termed tropas de resgate or ‘rescue’ expeditions, to put them to
work harvesting the drogas do sertao (Parker 1985).

The Fransicans attempted to put an end to the enslavement of the Indians and
established several missions in eastern Amazonia in the early 17th century. They became
embroiled in hostilities with the settlers, however, who viewed them as meddlesome
interlopers bent on monopolizing Indian labor, and by the 16303 their presence had
largely been neutralized. Despite these setbacks, they managed in 1661 to establish the
first European settlement on what is now the city of Santarém (Amorim 2000). Chronic
labor shortages and continued reports of Amerindian enslavement lead the Crown to
dispatch the Society of Jesus to the colony in 1653. The tough-minded Jesuits proved to
be far more effective at wresting control of the Indians from the settlers than the
Franciscans has been. By 1656 they had control of fifty four Indian villages and
established an extensive trade network (Kiemen 1954). The mission villages offered
food and protection from the raiding settlers, and converted the Indians into Christian

commodity producers. The Jesuits did not have to pay taxes on their profits and enjoyed

 

9 The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the ‘newly discovered’ lands outside Europe between Spain and
Portugal along a north-south meridian of 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. For more
information, see Henry Harrisse, The Diplomatic History of America: Its First Chapter 1452 - I493 —
1494. London: Stevens Press, 1897.

26

a monopoly on Indian labor. This enraged the settlers and led to more raids, decimating
countless villages through war and disease, further reducing the indigenous population
and driving the survivors into Jesuit hands.

The Crown decided they were not benefiting from this arrangement and in 1759,
one year after Santarém was raised to the category of Village, the Jesuits were expelled
from the Amazon by the Directorate, written by Francisco Xavier de Mendonca Furtado,
brother of the Marquis de Pombal, which decreed that Indian villages and Jesuit missions
be placed under the joint control of Indian chiefs and Portuguese mayors. From this point
onwards, the Indians were subject to the same laws as the settlers. Intermarriage was
promoted, Portuguese was declared the official language, European schools were
established and the nuclear family promoted over communal living. The collection of the
drogas do sertao continued, however the labor was unable to keep up with demand and
agriculture still was not a success (Wagley 1953; Pace 1998).

Despite the constant raids and missionizing, the indigenous communities of the
Tapaj63 and Arapiuns rivers always remained on their traditional lands. The Guerra a0
Barbara or war against barbarism, from 1808 to 1831, dealt the final blow to these
communities. This war began because of a mandate from the Crown stating that any
Indian captured by a colonist could legally be made his slave for fifteen years. Many
Indians fled deep inland, and those who remained along the riversides assumed a hybrid
Portuguese and indigenous identity as a form of survival. Their original names

disappeared and in their place appeared the name Caboclo (Parker 1989; Filho 2003).

27

2.4 Caboclos

The Indians lost much of their culture in the ‘caboclization’ process, but their
diversified, adaptive subsistence strategies have remained strong for two hundred years
(Parker 1985, 1989). The family replaced the tribe as the central socioeconomic unit,
supported by a small kinship network. The trading post, a holdover from the Directorate,
served as the centerpiece of new Caboclo townships. The term Caboclo refers to a rural
Amazonian native who is a mixture of Amerindian, European and in some cases African
descent (Wagley 1953; Moran 1983; Parker 1985; Nugent 1993). The term is considered
affectionate when used among friends, but can be perceived as derogatory when used by
an outsider (Harris 1998; Rodrigues 2006; Pace 1997). For a more in-depth discussion of
Amazonian identity, see Chapter Four.

Caboclos are difficult to define because they are engaged in a diverse number of
economic activities and migratory tendencies (Cleary 1993). As with peasants around the
world, they survive fluctuations in markets and natural shocks by sourcing strategies
appropriate to their changing circumstances in their ample livelihoods toolkit (Denevan
1983; Kearney 1996). Caboclos tend to live along rivers and in upland forests rich in
rubber and Brazil nut trees. Their diversified livelihoods strategies include hunting,
fishing, extractivism and wage labor.

Relatively few in-depth studies have been devoted to Caboclos, however, and the
majority of these are by anthropologists (Wagley 1955; Galvao 1973; Parker 1985;
Cleary 1993; Nugent 1993; Brondr’zio and Siqueira 1997; Futemma 2009; WinkerPrins
2002). Part of the explanation for the neglect of this important population may be due to

its immense diversity. The Brazilian Economics and Geographical Institute (IBGE) does

28

not recognize Caboclo as a distinct ethnic or cultural category, but it does have a category
for riverine people, or ribeirinlros,10 and estimates their numbers in Amazonia to be
approximately 600,000. Riberinhos are by no means representative of all of Amazonia’s
historical peasantry, however. IBGE’s estimate does not account for the smallholder
farmers, extractivists, residents of the floodplains (vcirzeiros), fishermen and many others
who live in the interior of the country, or those who employ hybrid livelihood strategies
which incorporate both urban and rural components. According to recent estimates,
there are 23 million people living in the Brazilian Amazon region. Seventy three percent
of that population lives in urban areas.H That leaves 6.21 million people living in the
countryside. Of these, an estimated 3.75 million people are colonist farmers who
migrated into the region from other parts of the country, mostly the dry regions of the
Northeast (Walker 2003). This leaves about 2.46 million people living in the rural zone
who are not colonists. Subtracting an indigenous population of 460,000, we are left with
a best estimate of 2 million rural Amazonians whose cultures, economic activities and
ways of life are not well understood by scholars, and because of their relative invisibility,
are underrepresented and underserved by government programs and third sector
initiatives (Adams et a1. 2009).

There are scores of names for these populations, including extractivists,
quebradores de coco, riberinhos, comunidades d0 fundo d0 pasta, vdrzeiros,

seringueiros, quilombolas, povos de terreiros, pomeranos, faxinaleiros, caicaras,

 

'0 While the term ribereno has been used in Spanish-speaking Amazonia for some time, the Portuguese
term ribeirinho is relatively recent, appearing for the first time in the literature in Miller, 1977.

This is not accounting for the many people who migrate cyclically between rural and urban zones.
Further, many Amazonian cities have distinctly rural characteristics, with residents engaged in agrarian and
extractivist activities on various scales. For further discussion, see Chapter Three.

29

gerazeiros and pescadores artesenais.12 These names are generally derived from either
the livelihood strategies employed by each group or the places where they live. All of

these names could generally be categorized under the rough term of Caboclo.

2.5 Colonos

Newer migrants to the Amazon are known as colonos, or colonists, and come
mainly from the Northeast of Brazil. Led away from their drought stricken homelands by
the call of Amazonia’s booming gold, rubber and grain industries, and government
colonization programs Offering “land with no people for people with no land”, colonos
migrated in the hundreds of thousands during the 19603, 703 and 803 (Moran 1983;
Hecht and Cockbum 1990; Simmons 2006; Simmons et al 2007). Many left after the
boom years waned, but those who remained migrated to regional cities or settled into
lives as farmers, concentrating along the region’s major highways, the Transamazon and
the Cuiaba-Santarém, also known as the BR 230 and the BR 163, respectively.

The only Caboclo population infusion between 1800 and 1985 came during the
rubber boom, from 1870 to 1910 when early colonos moved into the forests to harvest
raw rubber (havea brasiliensis), produced by the rubber tree. After the rubber economy
failed, the colonos who had not melded into Caboclo society returned to the Northeast or
moved to cities (Parker, 1989). While both Caboclos and colonos are smallholder
farmers, colonos tend to focus more exclusively on agricultural as their main source of
income, and sell their surplus in local markets. They have less environmental knowledge

than the native Caboclos and tend to cluster along roads, favoring larger agricultural

 

'2 For a further discussion of Caboclo identity and livelihoods, including definitions for the aforementioned
groups, see Chapter Four)

30

areas, monoculture and cattle farming (Walker, Perz and Caldas 2002; Wood and Walker
2004; Aldrich et al 2006). As they adapt to their surroundings over time, colonos tend to
acquire more of the practices and characteristics of their native counterparts (Parker
1985; Weinstein 1983). In recent years, opportunities for the landless colono on the
Amazonian frontier have diminished, and migration from the Northeast has largely
stopped. However opportunities abound for the wealthy farmers, or patra'o, who arrive

from the South to establish large scale grain and cattle ranches (Jepson 2006).

2.6 Economic History of Santarém

Santarém’s economy passed through five major cycles since the start of
colonization. The first cycle was the drogas do sertao, which included cacao, sarsaparilla,
guarana, vanilla and copar’ba and were collected from the forest by indigenous labor. In
1839 Nelson Goodyear discovered the vulcanization process and latex from the rubber
tree became a product of great value for the automotive industry. This discovery ushered
in the rubber era, which brought great wealth to the region and increased its population
significantly (Hecht and Cockbum, 1990). In 1848, Santarém was elevated to the
category of city, and many infrastructure projects paid for by rubber profits were
initiated. The rubber era lasted until 1912, when more efficient production in Asia
pushed Amazonia out of the market. The rubber crash extended to all sectors of the
economy and precipitated a long period of stagnation. Jute was introduced by Japanese
immigrants in the 19303, and jute production and processing for packaging was an
important source of income in the region until the 19903. Its usefulness declined when

cheaper synthetic materials entered the market, and more products were packaged in bulk

31

(WinkerPrins 2006). No single product has emerged to replace the role of jute in the
economy for people living in the Varzea. Upland communities turned to black pepper
production (pimenta do reino), which continues tO this day, while fishing is the dominant
industry on the floodplain.

While the production of cash crops like jute and black pepper was important for
local farmers, it was never a major driver for the economy as a whole as the rubber,
timber, mineral, grain and cattle industries have been. The federal government ushered in
a new cycle of development during the military dictatorship, from 1964 to 1985, when
interest in natural resources and the defense of Brazil’s northern border placed the region
on center stage once more. Millions of dollars were invested in large scale development
projects, including the BR 163 and BR 230, the Santarém airport, the paving of city
roads, and the construction of the sewage system. In addition, The First National
Development Plant (PNDl), launched by the Superintendency of Amazonian
Development (SUDAM), offered fiscal incentives to investors to open up the forest for
pasture, grain and timber operations, and settlement projects lured landless farmers from
the parched and contested lands of the Northeast to the verdant, under populated
Amazonian frontier. These investments contributed to the growth of cities, spurring the
development of urban communications and transportation infrastructure (Hecht and
Cockbum 1990).

The discovery of gold in the Tapaj63 River Basin and its tributaries falls between
two phases of large scale development in the Amazon. The dream of instant wealth
attracted thousands of prospectors to pan for gold in the 19803, bringing significant socio-

economic transformation with them (www.santarem.pa.gov.br, last accessed 11/7/2009),

32

including the strengthening of the service sector and the birth of numerous small cities
and towns. After the end of the gold cycle, government planners decided that
overdependence on one product was destabilizing to the economy and it was necessary to
diversify. This effort was only partly successful. Today, Santarém’s economy is based
principally on cattle and grain production, which support moderate commercial and
service sectors, light industry and processing. Santarém has a small but growing
ecotourism industry, and many new universities have opened their doors in the past
decade. The administration of President Lur’s Inacio Lula da Silva is ushering in a new
era of mega development projects through a program called PAC- Programa de
Aceleraca'o de C recimento, or Accelerated Development Program. The PAC is
comprised of a series of massive projects aimed at upgrading the Amazon’s
transportation infrastructure and exploiting its natural resources, particularly its
hydroelectric potential. '3
Throughout the various cycles of Santarém’s economy, four economic activities
remained consistent sources of income for the local population: fishing, timber,
subsistence agriculture and cattle. The fishing industry is the fourth largest in Amazonia
and employs large numbers of people on the Varzea, along the rivers and in the city. The
traditional fishing boats are in decline, however, as large, refrigerated trawlers out
compete the smaller, privately owned vessels (McGrath et a1 1993; Almeida et al 2001;

Almeida et al 2003). Rice and soy began to be planted on a large sale in 1989, and are

sent with shipments from Mato Grosso along the BR 163 highway to the Amazon River,

 

'3 Total PAC investment in transportation infrastructure, including roads, railroads, waterways, ports and
transport links, is RS6.2 billion. Hydroelectric projects total R$2.4 billion, transportation of electricity
R$5.4 billion, irrigation projects R$359 billion, and airport expansion and construction R$95
(http://www.brasil.gov.br/pac/conheca/copygofjnfra_estrutura/norte/pac_no6/ last accessed 12.13.09)

33

where they are transported on enormous ships to markets in Europe and Asia (Feamside
2001). The paving of the road continues to be mired in political machinations, but soy
fields have fanned out across the region and now occupy 38,000 hectares of land in
Santarém (www.3antarem.pa.gov.br, last accessed 11/7/2009). The growth and spread of
soy production in the Amazon is a major source of income for Para, and $214.721.442
worth of soy was exported from the Cargill Agricultural Port in 2007, but it comes at a

social and environmental cost that is impossible to estimate.

2.7 The Tapaj63 National Forest (FLONA)

According to A F loresta Nacional do Tapaj63 (The Tapaj63 National Forest, or
FLONA), a publication co-produced by IBAMA and the Promanejo Project in 2006, and
edited by Eduardo Soares, the Tapaj63 National Forest, or FLONA, is a type two
“sustainable use” conservation unit, as defined by law 9.985 on 6/21/2000. Sustainable
use conservation units allow for the managed use of their natural resources by registered
users. Traditional populations are allowed to reside in the FLON A, and are subject to
environmental regulations and oversight by IBAMA. The FLONA Tapaj63 contains
600,000 hectares,14 with the following delimitations: to the west, the Tapaj63 river, to the
east, the Cuiaba-Santare’m highway, to the north, kilometer 50 on the Cuiaba-Santare’m

highway and a point of latitude equal to 2°45 'S to the right margin of the Tapaj63 river,

 

'4 There is some disagreement between Official publications as to the actual delimitations of the FLONA.
On the Promanejo website, a research project funded by the PPG7 and executed by IBAMA and the
Brazilian Environment Ministry, the FLONA contains 545 thousand hectares, 29 communities and 1,900
families. According to ‘A Floresta Nacional do Tapajés’, co-produced by IBAMA and Promanejo in 2006,
the FLONA contains 600,000 kilometers, 26 communities and 952 families, plus an additional 900 families
in the municipality of Aveiro who are also inside the FLONA though the communities they inhabit are not
listed by IBAMA in this publication.

34

 

 

and to the south, the Cupari river and its affluent Santa Cruz, and east again until it
intersects with the Cuiaba-Santarém highway (Fig. 2.2).

IBAMA conducted a census of the FLONA in 2007, and documented 31
communities with a total population of approximately 7,181, the majority of which are
located along the margins of the Tapaj63 River and are considered traditional peoples
(Caboclos, ribeirinhos and Indians). Four of these communities are along the BR 163
highway and are considered to be nontraditional because they are inhabited by colonists
who migrated to the area relatively recently (Soares 2006). $50 Jorge is one such
community, and will be discussed in Chapter Three.

The FLONA is inhabited mainly by Caboclos and Amerindians. Their economic
activities revolve around the extraction of non timber forest products, hunting, fishing,
and subsistence farming using swidden agricultural techniques. The Caboclos are
descendents of the region’s original indigenous inhabitants, intermixed with European
colonists. Fish is the most important source of protein for these riverine communities,
and is most prevalent during the dry season, from September through January.

Colonos in the FLONA, such as the inhabitants of 850 Jorge, have a diet similar
to that of colonos elsewhere in the region, and derive the majority of their protein from
beef and poultry. Families also raise small animals, mainly chickens and pigs, to
supplement their diets. Raising cattle in the FLON A’s traditional communities is
difficult due to the small lot size per family, and those who do have cattle keep only a

few dairy cows.

35

2.8 Land tenure in the F LONA

When the FLONA was first established in 1974, Decree no. 1298/94, it was to be
a biological reserve and human settlements were not permitted. While IBAMA
succeeded in relocating many families and several communities were terminated,
resistance was strong with the majority of communities steadfastly refusing to be evicted.

Eventually IBAMA revised its law, and in article 8 of 1298/94 allowed for
‘traditional’ people living in the FLONA at the time of its creation to remain. These
residents were not given title to their lands, however, and while they can inherit small
plots, they cannot be bought or sold. Only the original members of the communities and
their descendents are technically allowed to live inside the FLONA. If they leave, they
forfeit their plots unless they continue to be registered as residents and pay taxes in their
communities, with the intention of eventually moving back. In practice, informal buying
and selling of lots does take place, particularly in 850 Jorge.

While IBAMA, through the leadership of the directorate of the Tapaj63 National
Forest, is responsible for the administration and enforcement of resource management
within the FLONA, only 108,000 hectares are entirely within its jurisdiction. The
majority, 437,000 hectares, is controlled by INCRA, and 20,000 by the Para Land
Institute (IT ERPA). INCRA and ITERPA had given out legal title to some 62 lots before
the formation of the FLONA. Land ownership is hotly disputed by the diverse groups
who reside within the FLONA, and conflicting claims present an ongoing legal and
administrative challenge. One such example are the communities in the Indian resistance
movement, such as Braganca, who are lobbying for legal title to their traditional lands.

This case will be discussed in more detail in Chapter Four.

36

2.9 Conclusion

The Portuguese came to the Amazon to seek their fortunes, not to work.
Colonists mined the region for primary resources and offered little technological
advancement or social organization that would enable succeeding generations of
Brazilians to develop a strong and independent economy. This historical basis in
extractivism complicates smallholders’ ability to direct their economic endeavors to their
own benefit (Wagley 1953; Parker 1985). Prominent among the marks of the Amazon’s
colonial past include the class system, with its cheap labor underclass, a growing but
unstable middle class, and a small and very wealthy elite of large landowners.
Agriculture is the region’s largest source of revenue, but planners are relying on the
exchange value of cash crops over the use value of food crops, and small farmers cannot
compete. Further, agricultural communities face difficulty in maintaining their economic
base in the face of competition from cheap, industrially produced staples from national
and international agribusiness. Technical assistance is virtually unavailable to the
subsistence farmers who sell their surplus in local markets, and there is a lack of adequate
transportation infrastructure to bring goods to market. These factors and others conspire
to push the small farmer out of agriculture and into the labor market. While this
transition works well in countries with a strong industrial sector like the US, there are
not sufficient factory and service jobs in Brazil to absorb this new work force. The
migration patterns and livelihood strategies of smallholder farmers in the Tapaj63

National Forest, Santarém and Alter do Chao illustrate some of the difficulties faced by a

37

population experiencing an uneasy transition from agriculture to wage labor. In the

following chapter I will analyze data from 48 such smallholders.

38

CHAPTER THREE

Shifting Livelihood and Migration Patterns of Smallholders in Northwest Para

3.0 Introduction

In this chapter I outline changing migration trends in the Brazilian Amazon,
particularly urban to urban and urban to rural patterns, with consideration of the effect of
government colonization and development programs on the growth and distribution of
the region’s population. Next, I consider factors contributing to the urban-rural
migration pattern evident in my study groups. Data in three study sites reflects existing
scholarship on flexible livelihood strategies Of traditional smallholder farmers in response
to changing economic circumstances. I present evidence showing that the livelihood
strategies of the reverse migrants in my study have shifted from a basis in subsistence
agriculture and extractivism supplemented by wage labor, to a basis in wage labor and
government subsidies supplemented by agriculture and extractivism. The chapter closes
with a discussion of the expansion of industrialized, export-oriented agriculture in the
Amazon and its displacement of smallholder farmers, and how this has lead to an
increasingly urban population of unskilled workers and potential shortages of fresh

produce in local markets in the future.

3.1 Migration: background and regional trends
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
50.6% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2010. Urbanization in Brazil is well

above the global average. According to the 2007 census conducted by the Brazilian

39

Geographic and Economic Institute (IBGE 2008), 84% of the Brazilian population lives
in urban centers, compared with 55% in 1970. At 73%, the Amazon today is somewhat
less urbanized than the national average, but has increased substantially since 1991 when
it was only 55.2% (IBGE 1991, 2008, IPEA 2007). Additionally, this percentage
continues to grow as more people leave the agricultural sector and seek wage labor in
urban areas.

Throughout most of Latin America in the twentieth century, stepwise migration,
in which migrants moved from small towns to larger towns, and then from larger towns
to primary cities, gave way to stage migration, in which migrants moved from small
towns directly to large cities (Thomas 1980; Bilsborrow et al. 1987). While these
migration theories were at one time relevant for the rest of Brazil, they were never true in
the Amazon. The Amazon has urbanized at a far more accelerated rate than the rest of
Latin America. The remote and densely forested countryside was not conducive to
smallholder farming, and govemment-led colonization programs failed to help rural
populations take root. Raw materials such as rubber, rose wood and diamonds were
commercialized by foreign and national companies through strategic points of trade, most
notably Manaus and Belém, thus creating a highly condensed commercial geography
(Becker 1990; Browder and Godfrey 2008). Smaller cities sprang up in the 19603 and
19703, fed by colonists who could not survive in the rugged countryside and instead
became part of the boom-bust economy based on the extraction of natural resources.
Today, migration patterns in many areas have reversed, with migrants moving out of
cities to smaller cities and towns (Browder and Godfrey 2008), however little research

has been done to track population movement in recent years. The results of the national

40

 

census in 2010 promise to reveal a great deal of new and potentially surprising
information about rapidly changing demographics in the Brazilian Amazon.

There have been several episodes of migration to the Amazon since the mid
nineteenth century. The rubber boom from 1879 to 1912 ushered in the single greatest
population burst in the region’s history. Millions came to make their fortunes producing
and selling rubber, much of it for export. By the end of World War I, the region’s
population was twenty-five times greater than it had been in 1850 (anon. 2008a). In-
migration resumed under the military dictatorship (1964-1985), when the government
attempted to use the Amazon to solve three national problems at once. Brazil’s northern
border was unstable and largely uninhabited. The northeast was rife with land conflict,
unemployment and drought. Finally, the Amazon region was virtually unpopulated by
Brazilians and economically underexploited, and thus constituted a new frontier to be
brought into the national fold. In 1966, the government replaced the Superintendency for
Economic Valorization of Amazonia (SPEVA) with the Superintendency of Amazonian
Development (SUDAM), and launched the First National Development Plan (PDN 1)
which initiated a series of tax exemptions, credit lines and colonization programs to
develop the region, and in the famous words of President Emilio Medici, “Bring people
without land to land without people” (Schmink and Wood 1984, 1992; Hecht and
Cockbum 1990). Thousands of landless peasants from the northeast moved into hastily
constructed settlements along narrow dirt roads, with few resources and fewer ideas on
how to farm in their strange new environment. The govemment’s colonization plan was
designed to populate the Amazon’s rural countryside. Instead it contributed to the

urbanization Of the region as large numbers of frustrated settlers either abandoned their

41

plots or headed straight for urban centers where more opportunities could presumably be
found.15

While government colonization programs in the 19603 and 19703 were largely
unsuccessful, incentives for large-scale agricultural development during the military
dictatorship helped to establish a strong agroindustrial sector that has pushed many small
farmers out of the market (Faminow 1998; Schmink and Wood 1992; Simmons et al.
2002). Corporate agribusiness benefiting from economies of scale have driven down the
cost of production and forced small farmers unable to compete into bankruptcy, thereby
leaving land open for appropriation. By the late 19803 the Amazon’s urban population
surpassed its rural population as many of these farmers sought salaried jobs, informal
wage labor or went into business for themselves in the informal sector (Walker and
Homma 1996). Para’s population more than doubled in size between 1970 and 1991
(IBGE), but by the 19903, total population growth in the region had slowed and the rural
population declined as net migration to the Amazon turned negative (Perz 2002). There
is currently little to attract peasant or laborer migrants to the region, as urban employment
Opportunities are scarce and competition for land on the frontier is intense and often
deadly (Alston et al. 2000; Simmons 2005; Simmons et al. 2007).

The majority of migration in the Brazilian Amazon today is intraregional and
urban-urban, though major cities are no longer the prime destination (Browder and

Godfrey 2008). The dream of the Amazon as the land of opportunity has faded for the

 

’5 While the rural-rural migration pattern of these peasants, or colonos, to the Amazon was significant at
33.7% of total migration in the region in 1970, it was still less that rural-urban migration at 41% (Browder
and Godfrey 2008).

42

disenfranchised peasant farmer from the northeast,16 and the region is also losing native,
traditional farmers to urban centers at an elevated rate. While large cities continue to
grow, they claim a shrinking proportion of the urban population relative to smaller cities
(IBGE 1971, 2008). Would-be entrepreneurs find it is easier to acquire capital and obtain
employment in the less competitive markets of small cities (Pace 1998; Browder and
Godfrey 2008). Major metropolises are becoming less attractive as they lack adequate
services, infrastructure and economic opportunities for their burgeoning populations, and
living conditions are precarious at best in the sprawling shanty towns where the majority
of migrants make their homes (O’Hare and Barke 2002; Santos 2005). More than half of
urban residents in the Amazon do not live in either Belém or Manaus, the two largest
cities (Browder and Godfrey 2008). Bele’m, capital of Para, claims a diminishing
percentage of the state’s population, down from 28.8% in 1970 to 18% in 2007 (IBGE
2008). In addition to the draw of less congested and competitive cities from the
perspective of a laborer or would-be entrepreneur, this shift is evidence of the change in
public policies focused on decentralizing power and increasing the role of smaller and
mid sized cities in Para, such as Santarém, where important large scale agricultural

development projects take place (Rocha 2004).

3.2 Fluctuating Economies Demand Complex Livelihood Strategies
Amazonia’s traditional peasantry has intricate livelihood strategies involving a
combination of wage labor, agriculture and extractivism which allows them to survive a

range of economic and environmental circumstances (Graziano da Silva 1980; Denevan

 

’6 While their numbers are relatively small, the migration of large-scale producers to the North to build
grain and cattle farms has tremendous impacts, leading to massive deforestation and violent conflicts with
smallholders (Simmons et al. 2007; Jepson 2008).

43

1983; Brondr’zio 2004; Futemma 2009). These activities can be carried on
simultaneously or seasonally, causing them to move fluidly between rural and urban
areas. Many families maintain a presence in both rural and urban areas and share
resources among family members (WinklerPrins 1997; Nugent 1993; Loreiro 1987;
Raffles 2002a; WinklerPrins and DeSouza 2005). Many agriculturalists, both large and
small, live in cities and work in the countryside (Nugent 1993). The very definitions of
urban and rural are not as clear as they once were, as urban areas increasingly have rural
characteristics, such as homegardens (Wanderley 2001; WinklerPrins 2002; Dufour and
Piperata 2004), and rural communities develop better infrastructure. Graziano da Silva
(1980) refers to this phenomenon as the urbanization of the rural zone, or
“rurbanization”. I explore these peri-urban communities later in this chapter.

Despite capitalism’s inroads in urban economies, it has only partially penetrated
into the Amazonian countryside and has not converted the bulk of the population to wage
labor (Cleary 1993; Pace 1998; Nugent 2002; Browder and Godfrey 2008). There are
many economies that coexist with capitalism, like subsistence and hybrid economies,
barter and trade, and cooperatives, which are different from capitalism, rather than being
complementary or subordinate to it (Gibson 2006). Smallholders mediate global
economic forces through local institutions and livelihood strategies, demonstrating their
agency and power in a system that does not value their economic contribution. While
many Amazonians are abandoning agriculture and leaving the countryside, 27% Of the
region’s population is considered to be rural and continues to be engaged in agriculture of
some kind, 15% higher than the national average does this mean that the national average

Of 12% (IPEA 2007).

Smallholders may not be able to make a living in agriculture for much longer,
however. Markets are vertically integrated and peasants are competing with large
agribusiness in the production of staples like rice, beans, maize and manioc. Between
1973 and 2003, rice prices declined 53% and maize prices 60%. The rural poor suffered
most, as they are more vulnerable to market fluctuations and rice and maize are two of
their principal crops (Cassel and Patel 2003). Land concentration and mechanization has
reduced the need for farm hands and peasants to turn to other, non agricultural activities,
which are often in the city (Graziano da Silva 2002b; Mordono 2006). Rising
transportation costs make perishable goods increasingly expensive for small farmers to
bring to market, and market prices, although rising, have not kept up with the costs of
production. Farmers, frustrated by low prices, lack of extension services and poor
transportation infrastructure, continue to leave agriculture in pursuit of education and
employment in urban centers. Laura, from $50 Jorge, describes her frustration. “Many
young people are giving up on farming because who works in agriculture is very
neglected. It is not valued. We take something from the fields, and we go to the city to
sell it, it makes me want to come home crying.” She and her family are able to survive
by engaging in a number of different economic activities, but she hopes her daughter will
not work in agriculture.

The economy is not growing quickly enough to provide opportunities for the
large numbers of people who are leaving agriculture, however. Para’s manufacturing and
service sectors are relatively weak, and the number of these jobs available is shrinking
due to technological advances allowing industries to cut costs and increase productivity.

From a corporate perspective, mechanization has been a boon, increasing productivrty

45

dramatically in the 19803 to 19903. These advances have set workers back, however, as
45% of the workforce was cut from the commercial sector and 40.8% was cut from the
industrial sector during the same period (IBGE 2008). Dona Nia, a retired farmer in Siio
Jorge, sympathizes with the government.

Everyone is running after work now. The government doesn’t have

the resources to employ everyone, and in this I am on the

govemment’s side. It is impossible to provide jobs to all of these

people who no longer want to work in agriculture. People have to eat,

buy everything they need, and the money isn’t enough. You have to

buy everything in the city. This pension that has arrived, that the

president signed, if he hadn’t done that, the capitals wouldn’t be able

to withstand the invasion of these people!

For residents of the FLONA where there are few salaried jobs, agriculture
continues to be the primary source of earned income. Over 95% of the population
consists of smallholder farmers (Soares 2006), and their activities are strictly limited by
IBAMA to prevent damage to the national forest. Despite this, most of the farmers I met
in 2008 stated that, if they were to continue farming, they preferred to farm inside the
FLONA than outside of it. They cited various reasons for this, from lack of water and
basic infrastructure in the colonias, or agricultural settlements populated mostly by
colonos, to avoiding large farms along the BR 163 highway that use heavy pesticides.
Maria da Gloria is glad she left the agricultural settlements along the BR 163 to live in
Silo Jorge.

After we left Santarém and before we moved here, we lived in other

colonias. We came here from there. Colonia 119, 124, various. This is

the only colonia where we stayed longer. It was very difficult there.

There was no way for us to survive, there was no market close by, we had

to go a long way to get water. We only survived because God allowed it.

Populations of smaller settlements along the BR 16 and in the FLONA are

dropping rapidly (Bauch unpublished). In smaller cities and towns across Para,

46

 

population is largely stagnant (IBGE 2000, 2008). Basic infrastructure such as bus
service, running water, electricity, and convenience stores are lacking in many of these
places, and schools and health clinics are scant and poorly supplied. For this reason,
many farmers move to mid-sized towns in the vicinity such as Rur6polis, located at the
crossroads of the BR 163 and the BR 230 (Fig. 2.1), where infrastructure is better. 550
Jorge is another example of a local town that has recently gained population. As a large
migrant community in the FLONA with an economy based strongly in agriculture, Séio
Jorge makes an exceptional case study. In the next section, I explore some of the reasons

for its success.

3.3 Silo Jorge: Migrant Colony in the FLONA

Sfio Jorge is a small agricultural town of 1,500 people inside the Tapaj63 National
Forest (FLONA), about 40 km south of Alter do Chao, between the BR 163 highway and
the Tapaj63 River (Fig. 2.1). S'ao Jorge is populated mainly by colonos, colonist farmers
who migrated from the Northeast. Infrastructure is relatively good for a small town:
there is a large high school, locally generated electricity, regular bus service and the BR
163 Highway is only 4 km away. There is an active community association and a
hospital extension is under construction. Add to these benefits the availability of
government pensions and assistance programs for the poor, and it is not surprising the
population of 850 Jorge increased 44% from 2004 to 2008.

I surveyed 18 people using snowball sampling (Patton 1990; Heckathom 2002;
Cloke et al. 2004), and a series of introductions, beginning with an introduction from a

former resident, Natanael Alves de Sousa, a community organizer for the Projeto Saude e

47

Alegria, or the Health and Happiness Project whom I interviewed several times.
Natanael referred me to the Alves family, a middle class family who used to be full-time
farmers, but both the father and the Oldest daughter found salaried jobs with the local
electric company. The second Oldest daughter, Elsa, agreed to act as my research
assistant while I was in S50 Jorge, and she also provided some introductions.

I conducted 18 surveys and 10 semi structured interviews in the four days I spent
in S50 Jorge in July of 2008. Only two of the 18 people surveyed were native to Para,
and both of these were first generation. For some of the colonos who migrated to S50
Jorge it was not the first step on their journey in the Amazon, but a place they moved to
from a city or the colonias, along the highway. Despite this, locals have extensive
kinship networks and most were drawn to S50 Jorge by a relative who came before.
Thirty three percent (6 people) had more than 20 relatives in town, and 67% (12 people)
had an average of 5.6 relatives. Fifty-six percent (10 people) had lived in a major
Amazonian city. Only three had lived in the nearest city, Santarém, however, though
nearly all had relatives there.

Christina,l7 a health worker in S50 Jorge’s medical clinic, moved to the city in
1989 with her husband, a preacher and government worker. They have a subsistence plot
but support themselves from their salaries. She sees many people moving to S50 Jorge
from Santarém because the pace of life is much easier for low income people. Schools
are better than in many areas; there is complete elementary education and high school
education recently became available.

Many people are arriving here from Santarém, because it is hard to sustain

children there. Schools there are harder, classes are bigger and you have
to buy many things for the child to study. People go hungry a lot. Here

 

'7 All names are pseudonyms and IRB approval was obtained for this research, number IRB#XO8-499.

48

a.

no, we share material, if you can’t afford to buy something you don’t have

to, it is easier. It is hard to find work in Santarém. Life in general is

easier here, especially in terms of food. People who come here come to

farm because there is no other work.

There are other farmers who are finding the challenges of making a living in
agriculture too great and would like to leave the FLONA, but lack the means. Eduardo is
S50 Jorge’s second oldest resident, and has lived in the small town all his life. He arrived
from the Northeastern state of Ceara with his parents in the 19303, long before the town
of S50 Jorge, the BR 163 or the FLONA existed. They were one of six families living in
the middle of a dense forest. By the time S50 Jorge was founded in 1970 there were
about 120 families and the population remained stable until 2004. When the FLONA
was established in 1974, The National Institute for Agrarian Reform (INCRA) wanted to
relocate all of the farmers to RurOpolis, a small city approximately 50 km south of S50
Jorge and just outside the FLONA where the BR 163 highway meets the BR 230 (Fig.
2.1). INCRA would give the farmers houses and plots of land. The population declined
the offer however, stating that they believed the advantages of living in the FLONA
outweighed the considerable limitations, including being restricted to farming
approximately 2 tarefas, approximately four hectares, at one time, a ban on synthetic
pesticides and fertilizers, and not being allowed to cut down any primary forest for
farming or expand existing pasture for cattle.

Eduardo believed the decision to remain in S50 Jorge was a mistake for the
community. When he was raising his family in the days before the FLONA, he kept 60

tarefas in rotation, farming approximately 20 at one time. Eduardo said, “We planted

whatever we could. If we could manage to plant 20 we did, if it was less or more, there

49

was no regulation.” I asked “Do you think you would have been able to raise all of your
kids on 2 or 5 tarefas?” Eduardo replied,

No way. But our kids don’t have the means to leave so we all have to stay

here limping along. If we had accepted their project in the beginning, then

no one would be here at all. They wanted to pay people to leave, but they

didn’t accept it. They wanted to stay. The time to leave has passed.

Some people left. The people who stayed are screwed.

Fatima and Eduardo’s daughter Carmalita was the first to admit that her life as a
farmer in S50 Jorge is hard, though she felt lucky compared to her sister who moved with
her family to Porc50 on the BR 163. There, smallholders’ only nearby source of water in
the dry season is the excess that runs off of a large neighbor’s rice fields. “How can a
person get used to such deprivation?” she wondered. Carmalita and her family lived in
the center of town and had running water, electricity and regular bus service. Meanwhile
her sister required a car for the most basic errands. She had to drive to a stream to wash
clothes, as there is none nearby, she had to drive to the store for basic necessities, and she
had to drive to market to sell her products as there is no public transportation to her area.
Maintaining a vehicle was exorbitantly expensive and consumed a large part of the
household budget. While Carmalita and her husband Jose thought they had a better life
than smallholders like her sister who lives along the highway, they hoped their children
would pursue life off of the farm.

Their oldest son studied and helped out on the farm, but did not want to start a
farm of his own. Carmalita put it bluntly, “He can see his father is already old and has
nothing.” He is part of a new generation of people who prefer to continue their education

in urban centers, in his case Santarém, and stay on to find work as an urban professional.

Their second son, also a teenager, was more attached to his parents and said he wanted to

50

stay in S50 Jorge and start a farm if no better employment opportunities were available
locally. His parents hoped the economy would grow and he would be able to find steady
office work in S50 Jorge instead of becoming another poor farmer like his parents. Most
office jobs in S50 Jorge require at least a high school education and some professional
training, however, and usually go to outsiders (Steward 2007). If their dream is to see
their son working in an office in S50 Jorge, Carmalita and Jose will have to send him to
Santarém first.

Reginaldo and Nia are a couple in their sixties who moved to S50 Jorge from the
northeast in 1976. Their five children had grown and they were raising two of their
grandchildren. They pushed them hard, and both had finished high school and were
pursuing work and higher education. Reginaldo and Nia believed that the odds were
stacked against poor youth from the countryside, as even educated people have trouble
finding jobs in the city. Of the people I interviewed in 850 Jorge, 26% had some primary
education and 15% had completed high school. The decreasing number of jobs for
unskilled labor in cities is diminishing, and these people would be at a distinct
disadvantage if they were to seek work in the city. They recognized that the only option
for their grandchildren was to study harder than their peers and learn to compete as urban
professionals. They were grateful for their pensions, and had no ambitions to borrow
money to expand their operations. For them, agriculture is a lost cause.

If you don’t study you’ll never amount to anything. Working on the farm

doesn’t make sense, it’s impossible. We do it because we were raised in

it, but it isn’t worth it... If you haven’t made money in agriculture by now,

you won’t. Today, not even the gauchos (ranchers from the south of

Brazil) make money. It is expensive to work with machines, gas is

expensive, taxes are high, and interest on loans is very high. The loans are
only good for people who work at a more elevated level. Rice and beans

51

are only expensive if you buy them. But if you sell them, they are cheap.
Who makes money is the middle man.

Of all the people I surveyed in S50 Jorge, only one parent said he wanted his
children to work in agriculture and none of the young people I interviewed said they were
interested, a typical pattern for the region (Futemma and Brondr’zio 2003; Steward 2007).
There are a few jobs available in the town shops, school and health post, but agriculture is
the staple of S50 Jorge’s economy. Opportunities for off-farm work are slowly
improving as economies in the countryside are diversifying, but the bulk of these jobs
pay poorly (Kay 2000; Graziano da Silva and Del Grossi 2001). As the smallholder
agriculture economy recedes, young people who are best equipped to enter the job market
are the first to move to urban centers, where there are a relatively high number of jobs

(Kautsky 1986; Singer 1998).

3.4 Urban to Rural Migration

City life offers many advantages. There are schools, jobs, hospitals, large markets
for goods and services, and a wide variety of leisure activities to choose from. Without
money, however, most of these amenities remain out of reach. A growing number of
people frustrated by the crowding, violence and hardship in urban areas are returning to
the countryside. Unemployed and landless city dwellers can be mobilized by social
movement organizations to move back to the countryside to occupy public or
underutilized private land, in a process known as Direct Action Land Reform (Hammond
2005; Simmons et al. 2010). Rural Workers Unions (STRs), the Landless Peasant
Movement (MST) and the Democratic Union of Rural Landowners (UDR) are the most

significant landless peasant movements which try to force the government to fulfill its

52

promise of agrarian reform by squatting on public lands and encamping on private lands
and petitioning the government for legal recognition (Kelson 1997; Stedile 1997;
Femandes 2000). By law, ownership of any underutilized privately owned piece of land
in Brazil can legally be taken over by the government and granted to landless peasants
(1984 National Agrarian Reform Plan, law 91.766).

Caboclos frequently migrate between rural and urban areas, though they do not
generally participate in Direct Action Land Reform. During my research in S50 Jorge
and the village of Piquiatuba, a Caboclo agricultural village situated on the Tapaj63 River
about 60 kilometers south of Alter do Ch5o, I noted evidence of reverse migration. Both
towns have benefited from significant advances in infrastructure and services in the last
decade, and both have seen their populations undergo dramatic increases in the same
period.'8 Two thirds had already lived in either Manaus, Santarém or Alter do Ch5o and
returned. Nelson and Laura, a couple who moved from the remote countryside of Para to
Santarém, decided to move again to the small agricultural town of S50 Jorge inside the
FLONA where they plant, work for hire, and own a small shop. Nelson described his
experience:

The people sold everything they had and went to the city. They didn’t

find work and came back, but didn’t have the money to buy back what

they had. So instead of doing better they did worse. It even happened to

us in a way. We had to leave our place in the country because we didn’t

have land, and we moved to the city for a short time but it didn’t work out.

Work was scarce for someone like me who doesn’t have a profession. So
we came back to the colonia. It was horrible, I prefer the colonias.

 

‘8 The Piquiatuba Community Association disputes the findings of the official census that was conducted in
their village by IBAMA-Promanejo in 2007, which counted 42 families. They conducted their own census
in 2008 which counted 70 families. According to Piquiatuba’s association leader, the IBAMA-Promanejo
census missed many people because it counted all individuals living in one household as a single family,
even though there are often multiple families living in each house. According to the association leader and
confirmed by several residents, there were approximately one third fewer people in the village a decade
ago. I was able to find no official statistics to confirm this, however.

53

S50 Jorge and Alter do Ch5o are beginning to have some of the amenities of
larger towns, they are still, according to residents, crime-free, quiet and unpolluted,
making them ideal places to raise children and to retire. One return migrant in Piquiatuba
explained it this way: “Here it is easy to save money, it is tranquil, we have energy,
water, security. Education. This is attracting people. Many people from here went to
Alter do Ch5o but are returning because of the improvements.” Another migrant made an
observation 1 had heard many times in other rural villages during my research: “You can
always eat and get by here. Money is hard but economically it ends up the same as
Manaus.” The cost of living in Amazonian cities is extremely high relative to income. It
is possible to make more money as an unskilled laborer in the city than a farmer in the
countryside but it is quickly consumed by expenses.19 While cities are overflowing with
ambitious young people from the countryside who were anxious to leave the slow pace of
small town life behind, eight out of twelve young people I spoke to living in the FLONA
said they would happily remain in the countryside if agriculture were lucrative or they
could find well paying jobs.

The Federal government is making the return to the countryside easier by offering
numerous public assistance programs to the poor, as well as pensions for the elderly.
There is Bolsa Familia (Family Fund), a federal program that grants poor families a sum
of money for each young child in the household, Bolsa Escola (School Fund), where the
government attempts to improve school attendance by providing families with money for

each child in school who would otherwise work, Bolsa Natalidade (Fund for Newborns),

 

’9 According to IBGE, the median salary for a farmer in Para in 2006 was R$550 ($253) per month.
Someone working as a merchant made only slightly more at R$621 ($286), and construction workers made
R$819 ($377). In contrast, a miner made an average of R$2066 ($952). At the time of my study, many
young men from the FLONA were going to work in the mines in Pindobal and in Juriti where Alcoa has a
large bauxite mine.

54

a lump sum for each newborn in underprivileged families, Casa Propria (Own Your
Home), a program that donates small, cinderblock houses to the poor and provides money
for basic furniture and household supplies, and finally, retirement pensions for the
elderly. Pensions have become a vital source of income for elderly people who may
otherwise have lived with their children when they were no longer able to work. This
income affords them the financial independence to retire in the countryside, where
expenses are lower and quality of life is generally healthier and more peaceful than in
urban areas. Government benefits also allow some families to live in the countryside that
otherwise may have moved to cities in search of work. Many farmers in the Amazon,
including five who I interviewed in S50 Jorge and Piquiatuba, used to farm full time and
now rely on their government checks to pay a lot of the bills, and maintain subsistence

plots to supplement their incomes (Steward 2007).

3.5 Alter do Ch50: Caribbean of the Amazon

My main study sites were in Alter do Ch5o, a mid-sized town beautifully situated
on the white sand beaches of the Tapaj63 River in the municipality of Santarém, about 40
km from the city of Santarém (for a brief history, see Chapter Two). It is a popular
destination for weekenders from Santarém and tourists from throughout Brazil and the
world who come in the thousands to enjoy its beaches and ecotourism expeditions in the
low water months from June through October. Alter do Ch5o, affectionately known as
the Caribbean of the Amazon, draws farmers from small villages across the region,
especially the FLONA, who have abandoned agriculture in the hopes of obtaining wage

labor, education for their children and a better life. Alter do Ch5o is an example of a

55

peri-urban community, offers a combination of rural and urban qualities that is
particularly attractive to people from the countryside who are not prepared to live in a
major metropolis. It has complete public education (K-12), basic infrastructure,
abundant, though seasonal, wage labor, and is close to both the FLONA and a major city,
Santarém.

My research took place in the adjoining neighborhoods of Uni5o and Nova Uni5o,
which formed 7 and 2 years ago, respectively, out of squatter settlements on the periphery
of Alter do Ch5o. Ninety percent of residents I interviewed in Uni5o and Nova Uni5o
were former farmers from the countryside, and 70% migrated from villages inside the
FLONA, including the villages of Braganca (for further discussion, see Chapter Four)
and Piquiatuba. By making the villages of Braganca, Piquiatuba and S50 Jorge
secondary research sites, I hoped to gain a better understanding of why farmers leave
villages in the FLONA, and why some have chosen to go to Alter do Ch5o instead of
Santarém, the third largest city in along the Amazon river, just 40 km away.

Uni5o began in 1995 as an illegal occupation by landless peasants who had
abandoned agriculture to seek wage labor, education and infrastructure in Alter do Ch5o.
The settlement of Uni5o was made legitimate in 1998 when the mayor of Santarém20
donated the land, under the condition that plots be reserved for needy families and not
sold on the open market. Legal title would be granted to residents after five years, after
which time plots could be bought and sold. The 140 plots, 10 x 30 meter each, were
assigned to families approved by the community association. After a couple of years,

residents abandoned the original precepts of the neighborhood and plots have been

 

2° Alter do Ch5o is considered to be an administrative district of Santarém and does not have its own
mayor, but rather an ‘administrator’ who oversees day to day governance issues. This administrator has no
independent authority to make decisions for the community without the support of the mayor of Santarém.

56

 

bought and sold ever since, although legal title can only be granted to those residents who
register with the city government, have no competing claims on their land, and pay their
local property taxes.

Nova Uni5o is a neighborhood in the process of formation. It lies directly parallel
to Uni5o and is experiencing a similar beginning, though local leaders are determined that
it remain expressly for low income families who are committed to working together for
the betterment of the community. Nova Uni5o began as an illegal occupation of public
land in 2007 that was legalized by the government in 2008 under the condition that plots
are granted only to needy families. There are 160 plots in all, 10 x 30 meters each. At
the time of my research in July of 2008, approximately 20 families had built thatch
houses on their plots and moved in. While forty two percent of the residents interviewed
in Uni5o and Nova Uni50 claimed that the quality of Alter do Ch5o’s infrastructure was a
main reason for leaving the countryside, families are lining up to live in a neighborhood
which lacks even the bare minimum of resources. Nova Uni5o has elaborate plans for
future development, but currently is little more than a clearing in the forest. There is no
electricity or running water, there are no roads, shade trees, street lamps or structures
save for a handful of poorly constructed thatch and cinderblock houses. Despite a total
lack of amenities, all of the plots have been assigned and there is a waiting list to enter
the community.

Residents of Nova Uni5o cannot look to Uni5o for inspiration on their path to
prosperity. After 11 years of legitimacy, Uni5o remains a neighborhood on the fringes.
At the time of my study in July 2008, the president and vice president were stepping

down under pressure. The two were deeply unpopular and community morale was

57

 

(fin.-

 

faltering. Streets in Uni5o were unpaved and there was no school. Basic services like
water and electricity were unreliable and many believed the community leader may have
been pocketing fees destined for these resources. Of the 11 families interviewed in
Uni5o, 9 (81%) said they were unsatisfied with community organization and leadership.
These families were selected using snowball and stratified random sampling methods
(see Chapter 1). Initial contacts were made through the community association president
of Uni5o, who was introduced to me through a personal friend who has lived across from
the Uni5o neighborhood for most of his life. Nova Uni5o is comparatively well
organized, with a leadership council of seven people and a strong female coordinator. Of
the 9 people interviewed who had been awarded plots in Nova Uni5o, 5 (55%) expressed
satisfaction with the quality of community organization and leadership. There is high
turnout for association meetings and events, and most residents can be relied upon to
participate in group work sessions to build infrastructure and raise money. In fact, Nova
Uni5o had offered to join with Uni5o, to realize the destiny the very names would seem
to imply. Together, many felt they stood a better chance of success in the long term.21
Sadly, the offer was rejected by the president of Uni5o who did not want to see his
authority and the autonomy of the community jeopardized. His argument had enough
traction in the community to cause a stalemate, and the merger never took place.

The crucial benefit that makes the many sacrifices of living in Uni5o and Nova

Uni5o worthwhile for migrants is the availability of education for their children.

 

2’ According to the founding president of Uni5o and the association coordinator of Nova Uni5o, the two
neighborhoods individually lack the critical mass necessary for their own public schools. The Mayor of
Santarém said that if the two were to join, they would be eligible for the construction of a neighborhood
school. They would also be in an improved negotiating position for public money to improve public
transportation service and basic infrastructure. The original president of Uni5o was to campaign in the
September 2008 election with the leadership in Nova Uni5o to join the two neighborhoods. Although the
central figures on both sides were Borari Indians and natural allies, there was a falling out between them
over who would be president and the union of Uni5o and Nova Uni5o did not take place.

58

 

Education is universally seen as the key to a better life. Fifty five percent of interviewees
(11 people) cited lack of schools in their home villages as their primary reason for
migrating. The premium placed on education is a key difference between those who had
migrated to Alter do Ch5o and those who remained in the FLONA. Eighty five percent
(17 people) of those interviewed in Alter do Ch5o had some primary education. Of
those, 20% (4 people) had completed primary school, and another 20% had completed
high school or college. In contrast, 45% (12 people) of those interviewed in the FLONA
had no formal education, 26% (7 people) had incomplete primary education, and 15% (3
people) had completed high school. Their interest in education may be indicative of
migrants’ increased level of ambition. Ninety percent (18 people) of interviewees in
Alter do Ch5o said they wanted their children to complete high school and 70% (14
people) said they wanted their children to work as office professionals.

The hope of finding paid work was nearly as large of a factor as the pursuit of
education in migrants’ decisions to move. Fifty five percent (11 people) cited finding a
job as a primary motive for leaving their village. And yet, 45% (9 people) cited lack of
stable employment as their primary complaint about life in Alter do Ch5o. While there is
money to be made, there are very few formal jobs.

In the summer months from June through October tourists abound and there is a

large amount of work in construction, tourism, crafts and the selling of refreshments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions Alter do FLONA
Ch50 (n 18)
(n 20)

Have lived in a large urban center 70% 78%

Respondents who felt their economic condition had remained 50% 70%

the same over time

 

 

Table 3.0 Education and economic conditions in Alter do Ch5o and the FLONA.

59

 

VI 17‘

 

 

 

Respondents who felt their quality of life was better than in the 80% 65%
city

 

Respondents who had completed early elementary education 85% 26%

 

Respondents who had completed high school 20% 15%

 

 

Respondents who cited education a primary reason for leaving 55%
of home village

 

 

 

 

Table 3.0 Continued

In the rainy season when the beaches and tourists disappear, work slows to a
trickle. Abr5o, father of five who moved to Santarém from Piquiatuba and then to Alter
do Ch5o, described life in the low season.

This past winter was the hardest of all. The hardest times we’ve seen.

There was no service to do. The beach is our thing. There was no beach

at all, even the boardwalk flooded. No tourists came. The beach is

starting to appear again and we are hoping things will improve. We all live

off of tourism. Construction. They call us to work.

Most get by doing a series of oddjobs, and supplement their incomes with small
homegardens, fish from the Tapaj63 River, wild fruit and game, and public assistance.
The 17 people I interviewed who worked outside the home were engaged in an average
of 3.5 different kinds of work over the course of a year, switching between these jobs
numerous times or performing them simultaneously. Also, five had full time jobs in
addition to occasional part-time work.

Santarém has better schools and a much larger economy than Alter do Ch5o; why
then did these families not move to Santarém? Sixty percent (12 people) of Uni5o and

Nova Uni5o residents did in fact live in Santarém before coming to Alter do Ch5o. The

primary reasons migrants gave for leaving included violence 30% (6 people), lack of jobs

60

 

 

 

Such
ClOor

129m
‘gfér

[as («RAJ

 

30% (6 people), and family reasons 25%22 (5 people). The overwhelming majority of
migrants are farmers by trade and have no other skills. They therefore do not qualify for
most formal jobs and can only seek part time, unskilled wage labor which is low paying.
Competition for these jobs is also high. The need to generate income frustrates many
migrants’ dream of achieving an education and a steady, well paying job. Most members
of the household typically earn some income to help pay for living expenses, including
adolescents and children (Barbosa 2005). Nelson from S50 Jorge explained,

If you don’t have a profession in the city you only earn minimum wage

and this is not enough to survive. Here we don’t earn minimum wage but

we survive, we don’t starve, we have enough. Here we can pick fruit, eat

some manioc and get by. There on one salary you can’t live.

Quality of life is extremely low for the urban poor (Zaluar and Alvito 1999). The
only place most migrants can afford to live is on the periphery of major towns which are
underserved by public transportation and characterized by violence, lack of hygiene, and
general decadence. Many of the people I interviewed said that they felt stifled living in
such neighborhoods. They could not let their children play outside, had to look their
doors and windows at night, and were frightened by frequent shootouts and police raids.
Maria José moved from the countryside to Santarém, and then to Alter do Ch5o where
she has a house in Nova Uni5o with her husband and three children. She is one of the
few with steady employment, as a cook in the local elementary school. She said,

Santarém is move evolved. There is more going on, you can learn a lot.

But if I had to choose I would live here. The quality of life is better here.

The work here is ok, but not every month. There are festivals, parties,

these things that bring in some money. We earn well, depending upon

what we do. Here we don’t see drugs, which Santarém has. I haven’t

heard anything like that. We don’t have assault. It is very tranquil, for us
and our children. Here is 100% better than in Santarém.

 

22 Most people surveyed cited multiple factors for leaving Santarém.

61

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions Alter do Ch5o
(n 20)
Findingmployment a primary reason for leaving home village 55%
Left city because of violence 30%
Left city because of lack ofjobs 30%
Left city for family reasons 25%
Moved to Alter do Ch5o for schools 55%
Moved to Alter do Ch5o for infrastructure 45%
Moved to Alter do Ch5o for peacefulness, lack of pollution 40%
Unstable water supply is primary complaint about Alter do Ch5o 45%
Unstable electricity is primary complaint about Alter do Ch5o 35%
May leave Alter do Ch5o 55%
Plant native fruit and medicinal trees 75%
Pick wild fruit 65%
Have home garden 45%
Fish regularly 30%

 

Table 3.1 Push-pull factors behind migration choices in Alter do Ch5o.

Despite the fact that 75% (15 people) believed that their quality of life had
improved in Alter do Ch5o because of the relative tranquility, and the availability of
education, wage labor and improved infrastructure, 55% (11 people) of those interviewed
in Uni5o and Nova Uni5o thought of moving again (though only two people considered
moving to Santarém). Many of the benefits that attracted them to Alter do Ch5o remain
out of reach because they could not afford to live in neighborhoods with better services.
Lack of social organization and mismanagement of funds have kept Uni5o from building
reliable infrastructure. Forty five percent (9 people) of those interviewed cited unstable
water supply and 35% (9 people) unreliable electricity as their primary complaints about
Uni5o and Nova Uni5o. According to Dona Maria, a resident of Uni5o who planed to
move onto her plot in Nova Uni5o as soon as she could save the money to build a thatch
hut, people are lured by Alter do Ch5o’s reputation as the Caribbean of the Amazon, and

believe there is endless opportunity there. She said,

62

After a time, many see that the reality is far different than they had

imagined. Those who are unable to support their families move back to

their home villages. But the majority is stuck without money to move

back or anything to go back to, having sold their houses, and end up living

with relatives as they squeak by working odd jobs.

Unskilled migrants will not likely find steady employment at a living wage
anywhere. While there are more jobs in the city, the cost of living is high and quality of
life is low. The combination of amenities offered by Alter do Ch5o, a peri-urban area
with employment opportunities and abundant natural resources, is rare if not unique in
the Amazon region. Ultimately, it is likely that most will stay and more will come. Most
residents I spoke with had faced circumstances far worse than those in Alter do Ch5o and

believed that through solidarity and hard work, they had a fighting chance for a better

life.

3.6 Conclusion

Government planners envisioned transforming the immense wilderness of the
Amazon into a breadbasket for the region through the toil of hundreds of thousands of
formerly landless peasants from the northeast. Poorly planned government colonization
programs in the 19603 and 703 failed in their attempt to populate the Amazonian frontier,
however, and instead contributed to the rapid urbanization of the region, where 73% of
the population now resides. Agriculture has been a success for large producers raising
cattle and grain, largely for export. Smallholders encounter difficulty competing with
these large scale producers in vertically integrated markets, and are being pushed out of
the market. Economic and development policies have favored large producers and are

indicative of a government that undervalues the contribution of smallholder agriculture to

63

the growth and stability of the region because revenues do not register in the Produto
Intemo Bruto (Gross National Product). Shortages of fresh produce sold by small
producers in urban markets could ultimately destabilize the economy, however, as the
availability of abundant and inexpensive food allows urban centers to thrive (Marx, K
and Engels, F. 2002; Nugent 2002; Browder and Godfrey 2008).

As a result of these unfavorable circumstances, smallholders have been leaving
agricultural villages in search of education, wage labor, and improved infrastructure in
urban centers since the 19703. Today, the predominant migration pattern is no longer
rural to urban. Large cities are incapable of providing sufficient employment to the
influx of poorly educated and under skilled workers seeking menial jobs. Small and
midsized cities offer more opportunity for migrants to enter the workforce and acquire
capital, and are now their primary destination (Browder and Godfrey 2008). In 2006,
farmers earned an average of R$551 ($254) per month (IBGE 2008). Someone working
as a merchant made only slightly more at R$621 ($286), and construction workers made
R$820 ($378). For my study group, the higher cost of living and the poor quality of life
in the city outweighed the higher income that could be earned in the city. For this reason
many of my informants who originally migrated from the country to urban centers did not
remain there. Rather, they continued their migration to peri-urban areas like Alter do
Ch5o and small urban areas in the countryside such as S50 Jorge and Piquatuba, both of
which have relatively good infrastructure.

The dependence of Amazonia’s rurally-based traditional peasantry on monetary
income for survival is less than that of urban dwellers because they produce, hunt, gather

and trade much of what they require. For this reason they have been able to weather the

64

highs and lows of the Amazon’s unstable and under-diversified economy and have
maintained a strong presence in the countryside for close to three hundred years (Parker
1985; Schneider 1995; Perz 2002). Competition with large producers in vertically
integrated markets has made smallholder agriculture less lucrative than ever. However,
increasingly diversified economies (Steward 2007), improved transportation
infrastructure, and the arrival of electricity, together with extensive government
assistance programs for the poor and retirement pensions for the elderly, have made life
in the countryside more attractive and financially viable. This “rurbanization” (Graziano
da Silva 1980) of many villages and the emergence of peri-urban areas reflects the
increasingly blurred distinction between urban and rural. This change is also indicative
of the diversified livelihood strategies of the Amazon’s native peasantry that encompass
wage labor, agriculture and extractivism, and rather than contribute to the dissolution of
rural values and lifeways, may in fact contribute to their survival by offering a place
where these strategies can be practiced with relative ease.

The Amazon’s population has been predominately urban since the mid—twentieth
century, however recent migration trends show a preference for peri-urban areas and
smaller urban centers over large urban centers (Browder and Godfrey 2008). Eight out of
twelve young people I interviewed in the FLONA stated that, if agriculture were a viable
economic enterprise or if there were jobs available, they would gladly remain in their
home villages. With recent improvements in infrastructure, more young people are in
fact staying in 850 Jorge while many former residents are returning, bringing the
population up from 630 in 1996 to 1,500 in 2006. It is interesting to consider what these

return migration patterns might indicate about the values and identities of these migrants.

65

In the next chapter I explore how migrants’ description of rural characteristics as
contributing positively to quality of life may be an indication of their identification with
rural lifeways and a reflection of growing pride in traditional Amazonian culture within

the region.

66

CHAPTER FOUR
Back to the Future: Return Migration as an Affirmation of Native Amazonian
Identities
4.0 Introduction
In this chapter I address how economic considerations and a preference for rural

lifeways may drive the decision of some rural to urban migrants in southwest Para to
leave big cities and resettle in rural and peri-urban communities. Using a theoretical
argument that examines how identity may be derived from livelihood practices and
notions of place, I posit that the inability of some migrants to adapt to urban life may be a
reflection of their identification with the countryside and rural lifeways. I regard Caboclo
as an identity in formation. Moreover, it is an identity of increasing prevalence; a
dynamic that I argue is reflective of the growing pride that some Brazilians have in
Caboclo culture and livelihood practices. Using qualitative and quantitative data from
my study sites, I describe how tensions between traditional lifeways and modern
ambitions play out in smallholder migration patterns. Finally, I consider the Indian
Resistance community of Braganca and its efforts to revive its Munduruku identity as a
type of livelihood strategy designed to prevent further loss of its population to urban

CCDICI'S.

4.1 Caboclo Migration Patterns and Livelihood Strategies

As I discussed in Chapters 2 and 3, the general migratory trend for smallholder
farmers in the Amazon is one towards urban centers. Judging by the rate at which the
urban population is growing relative to the rural population in the region, it is clear that

the majority of migrants who move to cities are staying. Small and mid-sized cities are

67

growing faster than primary cities in Brazil (IBGE 1991, 2008), and as stated in Chapter
Three, urban-to-urban migration from larger to smaller cities is the predominant pattern
in Amazonia today (Browder and Godfrey 2008). There are no statistics, however,
available for the percentages of rural—to-urban migrants who return to the countryside,
nor are there any figures for those whose livelihood strategies encompass a cyclical
migration pattern between rural and urban zones. Despite this omission in the official
statistics, cyclical migration has been a livelihood strategy of Amazonian natives for
thousands of years (Roosevelt 1989; Denevan 1992; Heckenberger 2003), and there is
contemporary research to show that, for some migrants, the move from the countryside to
the city is not permanent (WinkerPrins 1997, 2002; Browder and Godfrey 2008; Walker
2004; Simmons et al. 2010). I argue that, among former smallholders, an important
motivation behind the growing popularity of smaller cities and towns, as well as the
rising prevalence of reverse (urban-to-rural) and cyclical migration, is cultural
identification with the countryside.

The migrants I focus on are smallholder farmers in the Tapaj63 National Forest
(FLONA) and former farmers in the peri-urban community of Alter do Ch5o. These
smallholders are predominantly Caboclos, with some colonos who have lived for many
years in Para. Examining the difference in migration patterns between Caboclos and
colonos may yield interesting data in terms of how the likelihood to return to the rural
zone may correspond to whether the migrant identifies as part of the traditional
Amazonian peasantry, the Caboclos, or is a migrant from elsewhere in Brazil. This
question is beyond the scope of this study, however. In this chapter I instead consider the

extent to which the reasons smallholders give for returning to the countryside may be

68

related to a desire to return to their rural lifestyle and livelihood practices, and how such
practices may be expressions of cultural identity.

Ninety percent of the migrants I interviewed in Alter do Ch5o were originally
from rural areas, and 70% had also lived in a major city. They had changed primary jobs
an average of 3.8 times between 1998 and 2008. Fifty percent said their income had
remained the same, while 15% said it had gone down as a result of these job changes, yet
75% said that their quality of life had improved since moving to Alter do Ch5o. In S50
Jorge and Piquatuba, 68% had lived in major cities and returned. Seventy percent said
their income was the same inside and outside the FLONA, while 11% said it was worse
outside the FLON A. Sixty five percent said their quality of life was better inside the
FLONA. Smallholders reported income to be relatively equal in the rural and urban
zones after factoring in higher living expenses in urban centers, which indicates that
quality of life seems to be a key factor in migrants’ decision to return to rural or peri-
urban areas, and is not directly linked to monetary income.

It is interesting to consider what quality of life means for these migrants. Many of
the interviewees professed a deep nostalgia for the way of life they led in the countryside,
and said they preferred the rural to the urban lifestyle. Thirty-five percent (7 people) of
residents in Uni5o and Nova Uni5o cited the town’s rural qualities as a major draw, such
as peacefulness, security and lack of pollution. Houses are more crowded together than
in the countryside, and infrastructure in their poor neighborhoods is lacking, however
according to those interviewed conditions are far better than what was available to them
in either Santarém or in their home villages. According to residents there is virtually no

crime or drugs in Alter do Ch5o, and nightlife is limited to the center of town. Most

69

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migrants from the countryside continue to rely on local fruits and vegetables as an
important part of their diet, and Alter do Ch5o is surrounded by forests, lakes and rivers
containing an abundance of plant and animal species.

Abr5o, who migrated to Santarém from Piquiatuba and then to Alter do Ch5o with
his four children, plans to stay despite the difficulties he experienced during the last rainy
season.

It’s good here in Alter do Ch5o. Many people are coming here wanting to

buy land, people like it, because it isn’t violent yet, it’s peaceful. It’s good

to live here, even though it’s expensive. I can go hunt, even though I have

to hide a bit. It’s just as ifI were living in the countryside, the only

difference is that I can’t plant. But there are people who cultivate here. I

plan to plant a little on my land, fruit trees, manioc, I have already planted

a few. Everyone is going to plant.

While it is illegal to hunt in conservation areas and few will admit to it, 30% fish
regularly, which is not illegal (6 people). Reliance on wild or cultivated fruit and
vegetables is far greater: 75% plant trees (15 people), 65% pick wild fruit (13 people),
and 45% have home gardens (9 peOple). These sources of food typically comprise 40%
percent or more of the livelihood portfolios of rural people (Shanley 1999) and keep
hunger at bay for families on the margins during the rainy season.

Societies develop livelihood strategies that maximize the resources available in
their location. These practices are woven into cultural traditions over time, becoming
part of the identity and worldview of the people who perform them. In this way,
environment exerts a powerful influence over cultural development (Denevan 1992;
Butzer 1996; Steward 2006). Adapting to urban life involves letting go of cultural and

economic practices that are inextricably linked. It is therefore not difficult to understand

why many Amazonians who migrated to cities want to return to peri-urban areas or to the

70

countryside where they claim to enjoy a higher quality of life, although their incomes are
effectively the same in both areas.

Emanuel, a Munduruku Indian who was raised in the Caboclo tradition and
married to a Borari Indian who was also raised in the Caboclo tradition, moved from the
FLONA to Alter do Ch5o as a child with his parents and eleven siblings. Emanuel works
in Santarém but says he would never want to live there. He and his family enjoy a
middle class life in Uni5o and retain strong ties to the countryside. Emanuel says he
knows he can always go back. and with the knowledge of livelihood practices they
brought with them from the countryside, his family will never go hungry.

It is very difficult to come from the interior to the city. You can do

alright, but it is a lot to get used to — different culture, people; the urban

environment. I brought the spirit of the countryside with me here, and in

my garden 1 plant all kinds of things. It is small, but I used to have pigs,

geese, chickens, ducks, everything you could imagine! It was a zoo, shit

all over the place. But I loved it.

As discussed in Chapter Two, the term Caboclo refers to people of Amerindian
and European (Wagley 1953; de Castro 2002) or Amerindian, European and African
descent (Moran 1983; Parker 1985). Caboclo culture has and continues to evolve out of
the commingling of these rich traditions. Composite livelihood strategies allow
Caboclos to adapt to changing circumstances and survive in a variety of settings, but they
retain their connection to the forests, herbs, waters and animals of their native country
despite moving from place to place.

Caboclo culture is rooted in Indian society and their indigenous heritage informs
how Caboclos relate to their environment. Strong evidence of the Amerindian legacy can

be seen in Caboclo livelihood strategies today, which are best practiced in areas rich in

natural resources, utilizing harvesting and processing tools developed over millennia for

71

use in the Amazon region. Caboclo livelihood practices derived from Indian traditions
include subsistence agriculture based on native species, the making of farinha, artisanal
fishing, canoe-making, herbal medicine and hunting and gathering (Posey and Balée
1989; Padoch 1992). Caboclo society also has strong European influences but diverges
from indigenous societies in many ways. Caboclos use many Indigenous terms but speak
Portuguese, are nominally Catholic with a growing percentage of evangelical protestants,
their primary unit of production is the household rather than the clan, and they rely on
wage labor and market sales23 for the majority of their income (Murrieta 1994; de Castro
2002; Adams et al. 2009). Out of this mixture of cultural influences emerged a unique
mythology and worldview that continues to evolve as it incorporates new economic and
cultural influences (Moran 1974; Abramovay 1981; and Chibnick 1991). Scholars who
have studied Caboclo society say that its defining characteristics include the ability to
adapt to changing social, economic and environmental conditions (Wagley 1953; Parker
1985; Hiraoka 1985; Schmink 1992; Nugent 1993; Harris 1998; and Brondr’zio 2004;
Adams et al. 2009). This adaptability allows the Caboclo to create livelihood strategies
that encompass both rural and urban components, seasonal migration patterns, wage
work, extractivism and diverse agricultural practices.

Further evidence that Caboclo identity is closely tied to the places that support
their composite livelihood strategies can be found in the derivations of names given to
subsets of Caboclos in Brazil’s north and northeastern regions.24 Quebradores de coco

can be translated to coconut breakers, communities of people in a region of Maranh5o

 

2" Amerindians today have adopted many European traditions and reject the notion that they must adhere to
the cultural and economic practices of their ancestors in order to retain their Indian identities. For further
discussion, see below.

2" Caboclo is also used to describe people of mixed Amerindian, European and African descent in other
parts of Brazil (Wachowicz 1987, Mondardo 2006).

72

 

 

rich in babacu palms who process babacu nuts for a variety of commercial products.
Ribeirinhos are people who live by the side of the river and depend on fishing,
extractivism and small scale agriculture; vcirzeiros are residents of the vcirzea, or
whitewater floodplain, and make their living selling fish, agriculture, and cattle;
pescadores artesenais are traditional fishermen from the terra firme who have been using
similar boats, nets and lines for hundreds of years; seringueiros, or rubber tappers, are
people who extract latex from the rubber tree endemic to the Amazon region. The name
quilombola is derived from the word “kilombo” from the Quimbundo language, spoken
by Bantus in Angola, meaning a place of rest for nomadic people. Quilombos can be
found throughout Brazil and are communities of descendents of African slaves who
escaped their bondage during colonial times and fled into the forest where they founded
independent communities. In addition to Brazil’s over 200 Amerindian tribes, there are
dozens of traditional people of mixed descent throughout the country who have unique
identities and cultural practices, whose names reflect their livelihoods and the physical
environments where their livelihoods are derived.25

I asked Carmalita from S50 Jorge if Caboclo was a negative term, and if she
considered herself to be a Cabocla. “No, no, it isn’t negative. It is just the way people
are... Native Paraenses have Indian ways. It is just a difference. I am Paraense because I
was raised in Para, but my mother is from Ceara. The real Paraenses live on the
riverside.” I asked her if you have to live on the riverside to be a Caboclo. “The majority
live on the riverside, but there are Caboclos on the terra firine too.” I asked if there were

Caboclos in the city as well. “Sure, everywhere!” she replied.

 

25 - . . . . .
Comunrdades do fundo do pasto, povos de terrerros, pomeranos, faxrnalerros. carcaras, gerazerros.

73

Despite its increasing prevalence and shifting implications, use of the term
Caboclo by researchers continues to be controversial. Some limit their understanding of
the term to its pejorative connotation of an uneducated backwoodsman, and argue that it
should not be used at all (Pace 1997; Rodrigues 2006). However, Caboclo is not an
exogenous word, but arose from within Amazonia and is used as a term of endearrnent
and self reference by many natives of the region.26 Gilberto, a member of the
Munduruku tribe from Braganca living in Alter do Ch5o, defined it this way:

To me, if they say Caboclo, I understand it as a way of discriminating

against someone. ‘That Caboclo over there.’ I am an Indian and they call

me Caboclo like they are superior. It is vulgar. Unless it is between

friends and relatives, then it’s fine. It is different when it is said by people

who don’t know you. In my experience, if you know the person, it means

hey friend, like the blacks say hey meu preto, hey my good fellow, like

that. But if you don’t know the person it’s not friendly.

While it is important to problematize the term, it is used by many contemporary
researchers, both Brazilian and international (Hiraoka 1992; Nugent 1993, 1997, 2002;
Cleary 1993; Harris 2006, 1998; Brondr’zio 1994, 1997, 2004; Martins 2005; Futemma
2009; WinklerPrins 2006; and Mondardo 2006). Many roles and characteristics have
been ascribed to Caboclos over the years. They are seen by some as a transcendental
synthesis of cultures (Cunha 1992), as lazy and short sighted (Verr’ssimo 1971; Bates
2004), as environmental stewards (Campos and Nepstad 2006), as the remnants of a once
great and technologically advanced civilization (Roosevelt 1989; Heckenberger 2003),
and as a culturally independent people who have crafted dynamic livelihood strategies

incorporating indigenous and European practices (Adams et al. 2006). Despite the

variety of definitions and perspectives, the term Caboclo is still useful to distinguish this

 

26 The Caboclo has existed in Amazonia for over 300 years (Parker 1985). originating as Amerindian
populations known as tapuios who mixed with European colonists (Schmink and Wood 1992; Murrieta
1994).

74

group from Amerindian populations and from colono farmers who have migrated into the
region and brought with them exogenous agricultural strategies and cultural practices that
are distinct from those of native Amazonians. Caboclos are distinct from Amerindians in
that they are of mixed heritage, and are partially integrated into the market economy.
Caboclos identify as Brazilians, and are fully assimilated into Brazilian culture.

There is more to Caboclo identity than land use patterns, ethnic descriptors,
cultural heritage and kinship ties, however (Wagley 1953; Moran 1983; Parker 1985,
Brondr’zio 1994). Stephen Nugent (1993) was the first researcher to observe the
influences of international markets, foreign investment and economic policy on Caboclo
economies in the Amazon, and how these forces impacted traditional peasant society,
culture and identity formation. While he does not say so explicitly, Nugent uses a
political ecology framework to define Caboclo culture. Political ecology builds upon the
cultural ecology framework in human environment geography to account for not only
how society is shaped by the physical environment, and how humans in turn impact and
manipulate their environment, but for the regional, national and international economic
and political forces that also drive local resource management and decision making
(Robbins 2004). Since their formation as a group, Caboclos have engaged in market
activities and wage labor, and therefore have been influenced by macroeconomic forces
such as world trade and globalization. It is important to consider multi—scale political and
economic influences for their role in contributing to conflicts over resources and the
disenfranchisement of local populations, and how these forces are filtered by local
knowledge systems (Blaike and Brookfield 1987). Caboclos’ ample livelihoods toolkit

and ability to live in both urban and rural environments will facilitate their survival

75

through this complex economic transitional period. Indeed, they may be uniquely suited
to thrive in this new landscape.

The use of Caboclo as a general term of self reference is growing, and the
Caboclo identity is fiercely defended by many activists who feel its recognition is critical
to the survival of a Caboclo way of life. Helda Castro de 85, president of the Association
of Caboclos and Ribeirinhos of Amazonia, addressed President Lula in a video taped
speech at the National Conference for the Promotion of Racial Equality, in Brasilia, 2005,
where she strongly criticized the Racial Equality Act:

Amazonia represents 50% of the Brazilian territory and yet we

Amazonians do not have political policies directed towards Caboclos and

Ribeirinhos. They classify us today as Blacks, according to the Racial

Equality Act. To our misfortune, Indians, Blacks, Mestizos, Caboclos and

Ribeirinhos are bordering on a war, because the Federal Government has

imposed an identity upon us. Mr. President, I want to register my dissent

to the Federal Government because we own our identity... It is necessary

to have policies for Blacks but it is not necessary to destroy other

identities. There should be reparations, of course, because Black people

were brought to this country as slaves. But it is not necessary to destroy

us, the Caboclos who live in Amazonia and fight for environmental

preservation. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdOOkAkiYuc, last

accessed 12/7/09)

While the Racial Equality Act was signed without including any mention of
Caboclos, they have achieved recognition from the Federal government for their role as
defenders of the Amazon rainforest. A powerful grassroots movement of traditional
peoples in the Amazon region, lead by organizations like the Amazonian Working Group
(Grupo de Trabalho da AmazOnia), the National Council of Rubber Tappers (Conselho
Nacional de Senringueiros), and the Association of Caboclos and Ribeirinhos of

Amazonia (Associac5o de Caboclos e Ribeirinhos da AmazOnia), succeeded in having

President Lula sign the National Policy of Sustainable Development for Traditional

76

Peoples (law 6.040). This policy recognizes that traditional Amazonian communities
living in forests and managing forest resources have identities and roles distinct from
Indian tribes and communities in the rural agricultural zone. and require special federal
policies to support their efforts to conserve forest resources. The signing of this
document was a watershed moment for Caboclos who have lived for centuries in the
forest and fought for environmental preservation without recognition or support from the
Federal govemment for their unique contribution.

The emerging reputation of Caboclos as environmental stewards also contributes
to increasing interest in and respect for their culture by researchers and the general
population (Nugent 1993). This reputation may be somewhat exaggerated. as growing
populations and the adoption of certain unsustainable agricultural practices such as cattle
ranching and the use of synthetic pesticides have stressed the natural resource base in
some areas (Salisbury and Schmink 2007). However. small scale swidden agriculture
and extractivism are still the predominant resource use traditions practiced by Caboclos,
and have been for hundreds of years, and are generally considered by researchers to be

low impact and sustainable (Campos and Nepstad 2006; IMAZON 2006).

4.2 Theoretical Insights into Identity Formation

Cultural ecology is an analytical framework useful for understanding how
Caboclos relate to their environment and how their cultural practices have been
influenced by their material circumstances. Carl Sauer’s school of human-environment
geography focused on creating a system for analyzing how human beings are influenced

by natural phenomena and how they in turn impact their environments over time. Sauer

77

was particularly interested in pre-industrialized cultures. He rejected environmental
determinism, believing that human’s response to the environment is impossible to
predict.

The agency is physical nature; man responds or adapts himself. Simple as

this thesis sounds, it incurs continually grave difficulties in the matching

of specific response to specific stimulus or inhibition. . ..What man does in

an area because of tabu or totemism or because of his own will involves

use of the environment rather than the active agency of the environment.

(1925: 314).

Sauer’s students built upon his concept of mankind’s inherent adaptability and
dynamic engagement with his material environment to develop the cultural ecology
framework. Butzer’s definition of cultural ecology encapsulates the framework well:
“Cultural ecology focuses upon how people live, doing what, how well, for how long,
and with what environmental and social constraints” (1989, pg. 192). Cultural ecology
has long been concerned with how households, as the principal economic unit of
traditional societies, relate to their natural environment, looking into cultural history for
origins of decision making involving adaptation.

Several researchers apply the cultural ecology frame to understanding Amazonian
livelihood strategies. William Denevan (1983) suggests that adaptation practices are
dynamic and constantly changing in accordance with fluctuations in the environment, and
describes geographical cultural ecology as the study of those specific adaptive processes.
Amazonian cultures have an ample toolkit with a variety of systems and methods that can
be applied to a range of circumstances. The concept of resiliency is replacing that of
stability in biology as well as the social sciences, as more researchers recognize the

ability of all living things to modify their behavior in accordance with changes in their

physical environment (Cumming et al. 2005; Zimmerer 1994; Lash et al. 1996).

78

Political ecology framework grew out of cultural ecology in recognition of the
profound environmental changes that are often brought about by political and economic
forces, and that these changes do not affect all people equally. Access to resources and
the tools necessary to succeed in a changing environment are contingent upon the power
an individual or sector of society can exert over their circumstances (Bryant and Bailey
1997). Caboclos, being a minority, are among the least powerful members of Brazilian
society and struggle to transition from a livelihood strategy based predominantly on
natural resources to one based predominantly on paid work. Young people are eager to
obtain an education that will provide greater options as they make this transition, but
access to quality education for rural youth is extremely limited. Therefore, their ability to
adapt to changing circumstances is not based on their dynamism and resiliency alone, but
on political and economic forces largely out of their control (Simmons et al. 2007).

As local cultures and environments are influenced by larger economic and
political forces, identity is also shaped in part by these forces. Geographical space and
place theory can be useful in conceptualizing how multiple cultural, economic and
geographic factors play out in local decision making processes and identity formation.
‘Space’ is an abstraction equated with concepts, capital, history, empire and agency,
while ‘place’ is tied to the physical environment, the local, to human relationships,
tradition and labor (Dirlik 1998). Places are modifications of spaces, linked to
individuals who derive much of their personal identities from the places where they live.
Notions of space and place are mutually constructed, and can only be understood in
relationship to each other (Agnew 1999). A place, with its physical attributes and

resources, fosters the development of civilizations and social hierarchies that form

79

spaces. These societal spaces are profoundly influenced by the resources and geography
of the places where they are located, even as they exert control over these places.
Cultures and identities develop through the interaction with physical landscapes and the
repeated use of resources in those places over time (Sauer 1925; Schein 1997; Harvey
1996), and the enduring connection of people with their land is not solely because of
tradition but rather their continued engagement with it (Escobar 2001).

Castree (2004) proposes a relational concept of place where translocal ties
through social networks, markets, trade, and traveling all characterize a place. This
argument recalls Nugent’s efforts to discredit bounded, discrete representations of place
where people, resources and ways of knowing are confined to the local context. Places
exist at multiple levels, discursively with other places and spaces. Places are moments in
intersecting social relations, some of which are enclosed within a particular place, others
of which are stretched to connect with different places and processes (Massey 1994). In
this way, urban dwellers can identify with the rural zone and rural lifeways. This
identification can be expressed through livelihood practices, such as home gardens, and
rural identities, such as Caboclo. This helps to explain how, as Carmalita from 850 Jorge
earlier described, there can be Caboclos in the city, or indeed, anywhere.

For Nugent (1997), Caboclo identity is formed not by clearly defined traits and
customs but rather the struggle for power, therefore spaces are more important than
places in forming Caboclo identity. While Nugent believes the struggle for power is
central to Caboclo identity, current thinking on space and place has evolved away from
such limited visions. Caboclo identity formation would not be reduced to their

subordinate role in the power paradigm, or their unique methods for adapting to changing

80

circumstances, but rather viewed within the dynamic interplay of political, economic,
social and cultural currents and networks that comprise their environments in the broad

SCI’ISC.

4.3 Returning to Cultural Roots in the Rural Zone

Caboclo agency is evident in the decision of some migrants to leave large urban
centers and return to the countryside. Reverse migration can be viewed as an act of
empowerment affirming traditional values in a modern context. By choosing rural areas
with certain urban characteristics over big cities, Caboclos are rejecting substandard
living conditions without sacrificing access to education, infrastructure and the possibility
of employment. In “rurbanized” areas, Caboclos are able to establish variations of the
complex livelihood strategies practiced by Caboclos in the Amazon for hundreds of
years, thereby reconnecting with a vital aspect of their cultural heritage. The arrival of
urban amenities to the rural zone is also slowing outmigration from these areas.27 These
amenities alone may not be enough to maintain these populations, however. Monetary
income has replaced subsistence income as the main component of the Caboclo
livelihood strategy. In the countryside, employment opportunities are few and agriculture
is no longer lucrative. The importance of government assistance programs as a
component of new Caboclo livelihood strategies is growing, and the extent to which they
may permit and even encourage beneficiaries to live in the rural zone is deserving of
further study. It would be interesting to study how resilient these return migrants are if

government subsidies are discontinued, or the economy fails to grow.

 

27 Though it was not a survey question, I asked 10 people in Alter do Ch5o during semi-structured
interviews if they would have left their home villages had there been electricity and high schools there.
Seven out of 10 said no, they would not have moved.

81

One of the hit songs of the summer of 2008, when I was conducting my field
work in Alter do Ch5o, was “Pérola do TapajOs”, by Jana Figarella. In her song, Jana, a
native of Belém, proudly declares herself to be a Cabocla by affirming her use of typical
Caboclo words like egua, which outside of the Amazon are considered to be utterly
backwards and unsophisticated.

Nothing compares to the happiness of being in my land, the Pearl of the

Tapaj63, which enchants us all. Today my song is to eulogize your

beauty, rare beauty. All my love, I give my heart to Santarém. I say

‘Egua, pai d’egua’zg, I don’t deny to anyone that Santarém is my pride. I

say ‘Egua, hey check it out!’ I could never deny that I am a Cabocla from

Para.29

Jana Figarelle was refashioning a rural identity in an urban context through her
use of Caboclo language and pride in her Amazonian city. Her identification as a
Cabocla who loved Santarém is tinged with defiance, as she insisted that she does not
deny her identity to anyone. This assertiveness indicated that she acknowledged others
may not value her cultural heritage or may look down upon her as provincial, but she
refused to be intimidated. Her attitude is consistent with an emerging sense of pride in
Caboclo identity and valuation of regional traditions that can be seen in various forms of
popular culture. There are dozens of bands and solo musicians who have become famous
writing songs about the Caboclo way of life, such as Nazaré Pereira, Nilson Chavez, and

Arraial do Pavolagem. Carimbo music and dance troupes, unique to the Caboclo culture,

30 . . ,
are more popular than ever. Regional festivals, such as the F esta de Junmha, are

 

28 An e’gua is a mare and the word is an expression of astonishment commonly used in Para. Pai d’equa
refers to the father of a mare.

29 Original lyrics in Portuguese: Nada se compara a alegria de esta na minha terra. Pérola do Tapaj63 que
encanta todos nos. Hoje meu cantar e para homenagear tua beleza. rara beleza. Todo meu bem, entrego o
corac5o do Santarém. Eu digo equa, pai d’equa, eu nego a ninguem que meu orgulho e’ Santarem. Eu digo
equa, mas olha ja, mas quando eu nego eu sou Cabocla do Para.

30 In Alter do Ch50 there are six carimbo dance competitions in June and July, twice as many as there were
ten years ago.

82

fill

01

ll

growing in number and attendance. June 28‘h is the national Day of the Caboclo and has
become a major tourist attraction in several Amazonian cities, including Belém. The use
of medicinal herbs is widespread, and many can now be purchased in supermarkets.
Jewelry made from Amazonian seeds, bones, and barks, are considered highly
fashionable and are exported by local artisans to other states.

The growing visibility of the Caboclo culture is reflective of a sea change in
Brazilian popular opinion about indigenous culture in general. The strongest
manifestation of this growing pride may be the Indigenous Resistance movement. While
it is still limited to a few small areas in the Amazon, it is gaining greater traction in
Brazil’s northeast and may someday emerge as a distinct cultural group. In the following
section, I consider the Indian Resistance movement in one small community in the
FLONA and its ambitions to reclaim its indigenous heritage as a form of livelihood

strategy.

4.4 Indigenous Resistance Communities

There is an unusual social movement with its own unique migration patterns in
the Tapaj63 River region.31 Some of the descendents of Indian tribes in the lower
Amazon basin whose indigenous identity became subsumed by the Caboclo identity
following colonization, either by force or a natural progression (see Chapter Two), are

reclaiming their indigenous identities and have started a movement called Indigenous

 

3 I To date, Indigenous Resistance Communities have not succeeded in demarcating any lands in the lower
Amazon basin. however there are many legally recognized communities in Brazil’s northeast (French
2004).

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Resistance.32 As part of this reclamation they seek to demarcate their traditional lands,
revive their cultural practices and gain access to public services for Indians, including
special education and health care programs. The small village of Braganca is one of three
such communities in the FLONA. In this section I will explore the indigenous resistance
movement as both a livelihood strategy and an attempt to ignite a sense of place-based
identity in communities threatened with extinction, using the village of Braganca as a
brief case study.

The origins of the Indigenous Resistance movement go back to 1997, when Frei
Floréncio Almeida Vaz Filho33 began research on Caboclo identity in traditional
communities in the lower Amazon basin. His case study was the community of Taquara,
located in the FLONA in the municipality of Belterra, and his principal informant was
Paje’ Laurelino, the patriarch of the community and a revered shaman (Filho 2003;
Sampaio 2007). Since the founding of the FLONA in 1974, Taquara, together with all
communities inside its limits, came to have its use of natural resources strictly curtailed
by IBAMA.

If it were to be officially demarcated as an indigenous community, Taquara would
have many advantages over its non indigenous neighbors. Members would have unique
educational programs, added health care benefits, access to special government
development funds, the potential to develop cultural tourism, and the ability to use

resources on their demarcated lands as they saw fit. Although Taquara is located inside

 

32 The May 3, 2003 document Carta dos Povos Indigenas Resistentes, or Letter from the Indigenous
Resistance People. gives this group the name “Resistant” because they have resisted genocide,
acculturation and expulsion by the colonizers for 500 years.

33 Professor of Sociology at the Federal University of Para (UFPA) Santarém campus. Doctorate in
anthropology from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). Between 1996 and 1998. Filho conducted
research on the identity of the populations of the Tapaj63 River region, specifically in the community of
Taquara in Belterra.

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of a national forest, its right to autonomy as an indigenous community would take
precedence over IBAMA regulations, allowing them to hunt, fish, and harvest timber
without heeding sustainable limits defined and enforced by IBAMA (Sampaio 2007,
www.funai.gov.br last accessed 12/8/09). Taquara sought official recognition from the
Brazilian government as an indigenous community, and together with Braganca and
Marituba, is today reaching the final stages of this process. They catalyzed a movement
that spread to 40 communities in the municipality of Santarém, Belterra and Aveiros,
according to the Conselho Indigena do Tapaj63, or The Indigenous Council of Tapaj63
(CITA).

The definition of a Brazilian Indian has been evolving since it was first defined in
the Second Inter-American Indigenous Conference in 1949, with the help of legendary
Brazilian anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro. The current definition in use was adopted by the
Indian Statute that governed the relationship of the Brazilian state with indigenous
populations (Law n°. 6.001, 12/19/1973). Any group of people is considered to be
indigenous if they believe themselves to be indigenous, or if the population around them
considers them to be so (www.funai.gov.br, last accessed 12/5/09).34 Part of the
motivation for this loose definition may be that, according to the 2008 IBGE census,
44.5% of Brazilians identify as something other than white, and genetic samples taken
from each of the five major regions of Brazil show an average of 9% Amerindian
heritage (Lin et al. 2009). The significant indigenous element in the genetic makeup of
the Brazilian population, especially in the north of the country, can be seen in the

physical features of the population. As discussed in Chapter Two, most of Amazonia’s

 

3" This liberal definition may not stand, however, as FUNAI and other groups have questioned its
usefulness in light of abuses by certain politically motivated interests.

85

native population today does not identify as indigenous because of past discrimination
and the negative connotations of the term Indian for many people.

The Indigenous Resistance movement may be reflective of a changing public
perception of the Indian within Brazil. Some of the qualities that have been ascribed to
Indians in the past include lazy, scheming, unreliable, and unattractive (Wagley 1955;
Bates 2004). Attitudes towards indigenous people and lifeways have started to change in
recent years, however. In the past two decades, interest in Caboclos among researchers
has been piqued by the perception that their livelihood strategies are environmentally
friendly (Parker, 1985; Nugent, 1993, 1997). There is scientific evidence to back these
perceptions: satellite imagery clearly shows that Indian territories are significantly less
deforested than surrounding areas (IMAZON 2006). Perhaps in part because of increased
interest in environmental protection, Brazilians are beginning to adopt a more favorable
opinion of their native population (Conklin and Graham 1995).

As perceptions of indigenous Brazilians has improved, so has the self perceptions
of the indigenous populations. I asked Beto, a Caboclo from S50 Jorge, if he considered
himself to be a Caboclo. He laughed and said, “Yes. Caboclo is Indian, those people
who are more. . I prodded, “Is Caboclo more a question of ethnicity then, of blood?”
He continued, “The mother of my grandmother, she was an Indian captured to be slave
by a settler baron. He took her to live with him on his farm. My grandmother was light
skinned but she had that good blood.” I asked him to explain what good blood meant.
“Indian blood,” he replied. “My mother had less of that blood, and we have still less, but
we are descendents from these old Indians who were captured by these rich people.” So

for you, Indian blood is good blood, I asked. “Yes,” he said, “for us it is. Thank God.”

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Another factor contributing to the higher esteem Indians in Brazil are regarded
with today may also be a reaction to the homogenizing effects of globalization, and the
perception of traditional values being replaced with an identity based on capitalist
enterprise (Sampaio 2007). High speed communication technology enables people to
gain access to an intemational information network, but the concept of belonging to a
‘global village’ does not satisfy the desire many people have for a connection to place
and the physical signifiers of cultural identity. In this globalized world there is a high
premium on the ‘real’, and no cultural group has a higher claim to ‘authenticity’ than the
Indian. By capitalizing on that identity, Caboclos cum Indians are able to command a
higher degree of respect, demand a greater degree of autonomy, and assert claims to
valuable resources such as land, special services, and development programs (French
2004). Finally, their indigenous identity can attract tourists from distant urban centers
willing to pay money to make contact with an approximation of the pure and unspoiled

origins of mankind (Cohen 1998; Medina 2003; Oakdale 2004).

4.5 Braganca

The village of Braganca is located in the FLONA approximately 60 km south of
Alter do Ch5o on a tributary of the Tapaj63 River, about 3 km due east. At the time of
research, there were 10 families living there, all members of the Campos family.
According to the village matriarch, a full blooded Munduruku Indian, Braganca was
founded 100 years ago when her parents moved across the tributary from the neighboring
village of Marai, which was at that time an Indian settlement. She grew up and married a

Caboclo man, and they raised 10 children. At the time of research in July 2008, the

87

matriarch was over 90 years old. The Indigenous Resistance movement in Braganca
began in 1997 when her eldest son Pedro made a case to the community that it was time
to embrace their indigenous roots before their strongest link to that past was lost. The
community agreed, but interest in reclaiming their indigenous heritage was only part of
their motivation. Pedro argued that the economic benefits of becoming recognized as
Indians may be their only chance of saving their community from extinction.

Braganca is one of many small agricultural communities in the FLONA at risk of
disappearing. Population declined from 200 in 2000 to 75 in 2008 (Bauch,
unpublished).3 5 Approximately 25% of residents who left Braganca since 1997 moved to
Alter do Ch5o, including four of Pedro’s children. Two of Pedro’s siblings and their 21
children also moved to Alter do Ch5o, to the neighborhood of Uni5o. As discussed in
Chapter Three, it is increasingly difficult to make a living as a small farmer in the region
and young people are encouraged to pursue their educations so that they may qualify for
higher paying jobs. Their parents often go with them. Since 1997, the average plot size
in Braganca has fallen from 14 to three hectares (Bauch, unpublished). Crops raised on
these plots are strictly for subsistence. But as an Indian village, Braganca has more
lucrative economic opportunities than farming that other villages do not. These

opportunities may help to keep young people from pursuing opportunities elsewhere.

 

35 While I was in Braganqa, I happened to meet an old colleague from Belém, Simone Bauch, who was
completing the final round of data collection for a study co-sponsored by IMAZON and The Center for
Latin American and Caribbean Studies, an NGO in Costa Rica. There were three rounds of data collection:
1997, 2006 and 2008. The purpose of the study was to examine the economic impacts of the ProManejo
project on the population of the FLONA. They were also gathering migration data to see how populations
have changed, for how long families have lived in the FLONA, and the nature of people’s links to urban
centers. The study is expected to be released by the end of 2009. I attended the meeting in Braganca where
research results from the last round of data collected in 2006 were compared with data collected in that
visit. Simone gave me permission to discuss her unpublished research results in internal papers for MSU
academic purposed only. These results will be published in a series of papers connected to her PhD
dissertation through North Carolina State University.

88

The benefits of becoming recognized as Indian are many. Braganca, together
with its neighbor Marituba, are on the verge of gaining legal recognition as Indians from
the federal government, a process that has taken nearly ten years to complete. Though
Braganca is not yet officially recognized, they have already obtained many benefits
Indians are entitled to. They have state sponsored specialized education for their
adolescent children in Santarém. They successfully lobbied for Pedro’s eldest son to be
the village elementary school teacher.36 The village received funding from Dutch
investors to create a radio station, and Aqua Verde, a Swiss NGO, is sponsoring the
community to undertake a multi-year reforestation program using native fruit and
medicinal hardwoods from seeds collected and grown by the community. And lastly,
they have a contract with a local ecotourism agency to perform traditional dances for
small groups of tourists several times a month. Thanks to these sources of income, in
addition to remittances sent by family members, residents no longer need to sell
agricultural products of any kind. Their individual incomes are approximately two times
higher than the minimum wage,37 putting them far above the median salary for a farmer
in Para of R$551 per month ($253) (IBGE 2008).

Pedro’s brother Gilberto was the village chief for five years before moving to
Alter do Ch5o with his family, and watches the changes under his brother’s current
administration with skepticism. He sees tremendous potential for Braganca to develop a

market for its agricultural products in Alter do Ch5o and has the contacts to make this

 

3” Though he is not officially recognized as an indigenous teacher and the State does not permit him to
deviate from the official curriculum, he enriches his lessons with culturally relevant information for the
Munduruku.

37 At the time of research in July 2008, minimum wage in Brazil was R$415($180) per month. President da
Silva’s strongest base of support is the working poor, and the minimum wage has been rising rapidly under
his administration, from R$26O ($113) per month in 2004 to R$465 ($202) per month today
(http://wwwguiatrabalhista.com.br/guia/salario_minimo.htm, last accessed 4/1/10).

89

happen. However Pedro chose not to repair the community boat that was used to bring
goods to market,38 and the once highly popular community radio station was also
abandoned.39 Gilberto feels that his brother is over— relying on outside investment and
does not want to see the community lose its agriculture, which he views as an essential
component of its culture.

We came here (Alter do Ch5o) where there are better conditions for

studying, transportation, food, and other things. So I built a house, and six

kids are studying, and I am happy because they are all close to me. In

Braganca, I remember every day because I lived there, and I would still

like to start a colonia there because there is a lot of land. Manioc, rice,

beans, that culture. But here, it is basically live until you die. When you

study, you don’t leave it for anyone, you take it with you. If we don’t do

something else, we lose everything. Education serves you for the moment,

but what I planted there is there, and it will serve for my children,

grandchildren. Study is very important, but our culture is important too.
Gilberto and his family would like to work in Braganca part time both on Pedro’s
projects and their own initiatives, but they do not feel welcome. Pedro does not share the
profits of the development programs with those family members who have left the
community, and this has created animosity between himself and his family in Alter do

Ch50. Ironically, in the process of reclaiming its indigenous identity, the family has

become deeply divided.40 “It is an ethic,” Gilberto explained,

 

38 Pedro explained that forty years ago, they used to go to Santarém to sell agricultural products every three
months, and would stay for eight to 12 days. They would go in a big canoe, called a batalh5o. Twelve
people would sleep in the canoe. They would sell unprocessed latex, copaiba, raw rubber and between 15
and 30 baskets of farinha, 30 lbs each, in the Mercado Modelo. According to Pedro, rarely do farmers sell
their own products in the market today. They have to buy their food, pay for shelter and transportation.
They also lack the skills to make change and maintain the accounts. In the past, more items were traded.

’9 This station has the most powerful signal of any station in the region outside of the city of Santarém, and
made Braganca famous for a time. It served as the local news and message center, receiving hundreds of
letters every week from remote villages that would be read on the air. I have learned that since my research
this station has gone back on the air, after a five year hiatus.

’0 Ironically, Gilberto and his family may find themselves being evicted from Uni5o by another group of
Indians belonging to the Indian Resistance movement. Alter do Ch5o was once a Borari Indian village (see
Chapter Two) and there is a very small but high profile movement of tribal members who are stirring up a
great deal of controversy in their bid to win government recognition for their claims to much of the town as

90

You would have left here if you weren’t well received by us, and the same

needs to happen in the village. There is a lack of communication. If there

is not a coordinator that knows how to run the thing well, it won’t go

forward... I am here, but I am studying how to make things better there. I

want an honest organization. If there isn’t love and honesty in a family it

doesn’t go well.

There is no question that the standard of living in Braganca has improved.
It is uncertain, however, the extent to which indigenous identity resonates with the
community, or if the young generation will continue to maintain their identity as
Indians after their parents’ generation passes. Outmigration continues, but has
slowed.“ However, knowledge of Munduruku culture among the community is
sparse. As Pedro’s wife Dona Ines told me,

Everyone in Braganca actually agreed to the idea of reviving their

indigenous heritage, however when it comes to it most don’t participate.

They don’t go to the meetings or know anything about the Mundurukus.

If they don’t want to participate in the brincadeira, or little joke, with the

dancing for the tourists, then they don’t get paid. Too bad.
I observed ambivalence among the youth about their connection to the Munduruku
culture. One of Pedro’s sons told me that at first, teenagers in Braganca enjoyed having
bonfires, drinking taruba,"2 and singing traditional Indian songs, and threw such parties

to commemorate each other’s birthdays and other occasions. After a time, he said, they

tired of these events and stopped having them. They were enthusiastic about the state—

 

their ancestral land. This group has succeeded in entering into a formal application process for demarcation
with the government. and received a specialized team from FUNAI (Brazilian National Foundation for the
Indian), to research the historic claims of the Borari to village land and make their recommendations in a
report to the Brazilian Congress. If the Borari are successful, they will evict hundreds of non Indian
property owners in Alter do Ch56. including the entire communities of Uni5o and Nova Uni5o which they
continue to see as illegal invasions. Paradoxically. members of both the Borari and Munduruku tribes live
in those neighborhoods, including family members of the leaders of the Borari Indian Resistance movement
in Alter do Ch5o.

4' In 2006 there were 86 families in Braganca, and in 2008 there were 75 (Bauch, unpublished).

’2 Alcoholic beverage made from fermented manioc traditional to Indians in the region.

91

sponsored indigenous education program in Santarém, however. In this program,
interested students from across the FLONA complete eight month-long courses,
alternating months in the city with months in their home villages. At school in Santarém,
anthropologists teach generalized indigenous history and cultural practices from several
regional tribes.

It is hard to gauge to what extent culture can be assimilated from academics in an
urban center where students are immersed in an environment utterly at odds with the
traditional way of life the school hopes these children will perpetuate. Village elders
have limited knowledge of their Indian culture to share with their children, so there is
little reinforcement at home. The longevity of newly rediscovered indigenous identities
may therefore prove to be more fragile than the Caboclo identity that underlies them.
Culture-based economic initiatives have brought some prosperity to Braganca, but it is
unclear how important these benefits are relative to the value of Munduruku culture.
Perhaps what will emerge is a hybrid Caboclo/Indian identity that will serve to educate
Caboclos in general about their indigenous heritage, adding to the richness of the
Amazonian cultural tapestry.

The socioeconomic project of the Indian Resistance movement is more radical
than that of the Caboclo, and has some inherent limitations that may compromise its
viability in the long term. The majority of Indian Resistance groups want to maintain a
certain distance between themselves and Brazilian culture, and this usually entails living
in relatively remote locations (Filho 2003). Leaders must secure new sources of income
for their communities, however, in order to keep members from migrating. For the

village of Braganca, residents’ desire to affirm their indigenous identity and limit

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interactions with ‘brancos’, or non Indians, conflicts with their near total reliance on
outside investment for income. Most of their relatives have left the village, and they
must travel to see them, further complicating efforts to maintain distance from Brazilian
culture. While their livelihoods strategy is currently successful, all of this reliance on
outside sources of income may be putting Braganca in a vulnerable position in the long
run. The reforestation program will eventually come to an end. If they were to lose their
contract with the tourism agency, the village’s largest source of income would evaporate
overnight. The hallmark of the Caboclo livelihood strategy is diversity, and its success
has been demonstrated over 500 years. Braganca may have to return to some variation of

this strategy if it is to survive the next 500 years.

4.6 Conclusion

Identity is discursive, constantly reflecting changing circumstances. These
circumstances are largely out of the control of Caboclos, and their role is to react and to
adapt, making the discursive nature of their identity more evident. There are core values
and traditions inherent to the Caboclo identity (Steward 2007), however, and these are
evident regardless of where Caboclos choose to live. A principal attribute of Caboclo
culture is a compound livelihood strategy that utilizes tools and resources found in both
urban and rural settings. The movement of people and resources between these universes
is a traditional part of Caboclo life. The large scale migration of Caboclos to cities in
recent decades is not a reflection of changing values, but an adaptive response to

changing socioeconomic circumstances and therefore quintessentially Caboclo.

93

Increased development in the countryside may be a stabilizing factor for rural
populations. As small agricultural and extractivist villages acquire a baseline of
infrastructure that was until very recently available only in urban centers, the relative
advantage of city life is diminishing. This can be seen in the large majority of people
living in Alter do Ch5o, S50 Jorge and Piquiatuba who have previously lived in major
cities. It is still uncertain if these amenities will be enough to secure rural and peri-urban
populations in the long term, however. Government assistance programs may be
discontinued by the next administration, eliminating a vital source of income for many
families and retired people. Caboclos must draw strongly on their dynamic adaptive
capabilities to forge new livelihoods in an economy that no longer supports small scale
market oriented agricultural production.

As life in the countryside becomes more viable and attractive for some, it grows
more distant and remote for others. Perhaps out of some combination of nostalgia for lost
lifeways and efforts to recapture them, popular culture is demonstrating increasing
appreciation for Amazonian traditions and identities. The Caboclo identity can still be
said to be emergent, but it is increasingly used as a term of self reference as the region
looks with new pride upon its indigenous heritage. The Caboclo identity has taken on
political significance as more people demand recognition for the unique place of the
Caboclo in Amazonian history and society. Indigenous Resistance communities
represent the strongest example of renewed interest in indigenous culture and are
empowering themselves culturally and economically through the reclamation of Indian

identities subsumed by Caboclo identities during colonization.

94

Identities are tied to livelihood and place, but the extent to which a person must
live in a place to identify with it remains an open question (Raffles 2002b; Castree 2004).
I argue that some Caboclos who live in urban centers continue to identify with the
countryside. This identity is evident in maintaining in the city certain Caboclo traditions
associated with the countryside, such as language, culinary traditions, the use of non
timber forest products in fashion, food and medicine, and an affinity for the countryside.
This identity is also evident in cyclical migration between the rural and urban zones, and
the compound and mutually beneficial livelihood strategies shared between rural and
urban components of the same families (Nugent 1997; WinkerPrins 2002; Brondr’zio
2004).

In its quest to create unity and cultural integrity, the Indian Resistance movement
has unwittingly caused conflict between and within certain communities. In Braganca,
some family members are now estranged. In Alter do Ch5o, anyone who does not
consider themselves Borari risks being expelled from the city. There are examples of
several villages in the Tapaj63 River region that became harshly divided between
residents who wanted to be recognized as Indians and residents who did not (Filho 2003;
Sampaio 2007; Natalino Alves de Sousa, personal communication 7/4/2009). Perhaps
from the Indian Resistance movement a reinvigorated Caboclo identity will emerge that
celebrates rather than eschews its indigenous past, and consciously integrates it with
European, African and Brazilian influences into a modem and uniquely Amazonian
world view. If the Indian Resistance movement continues down an isolationist path, it
may risk irrelevance even in the near future. Until Caboclos are able to find a

compromise between the urban and rural zones that allows them to make a living while

95

maintaining their connection to the forests, rivers and cultural traditions they have
utilized for centuries, their future is also uncertain. The proliferation of “rurbanized”
areas may be a fortuitous development for Caboclos as it facilitates the complex
livelihood strategies upon which their culture is built. Rather than signaling the

dissolution of the Caboclo tradition, the blurred line between rural and urban may give

. . . . . . r
rise to a resurgence of Caboclo rdentrtres and lifeways 1n the 21S century.

96

CHAPTER FIVE

Conclusion

5.0 Study Summary

Colonization programs led by the Federal government in the 19603 were designed
to transform the Amazon into a breadbasket for the country while securing Brazil’s
northern border and providing opportunity for hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised
farmers from the dry and contested northeast. Instead, they resulted in the rapid
urbanization of the region. Lack of infrastructure and technical assistance, scant
knowledge of local ecology, and poor infrastructure, coupled with competition for land
and credit with large landowners, ranchers, and loggers led peasants to abandon
agriculture and move to emergent cities in search of work (Hecht and Cockbum 1990;
Schmink and Wood 1992). Many of the problems faced by colonists continue to impact
peasants today, and rural to urban migration continues. The growth and spread of large-
scale, mechanized agriculture and vertically integrated markets (Bryceson 2000) has
made it difficult for smallholders to compete as the price of staple crops declines.
Indeed, each influx of migrants to the Amazon has been followed by a wave of migration
to urban centers.

In the Amazon, peasant rural to urban migration history has not followed classic
step wise and stage migration patterns typical of the rest of Latin America (Thomas 1985;
Bilsborrow et al. 1987). Instead, peasants moved from the countryside to emergent cities,
and from the countryside directly to primary cities. Today, the predominant migration

trend is from larger to smaller urban areas. Migration can also be cyclical, seasonal, and

97

temporary. Recently, urban to rural migration has also emerged as a trend. Browder and
Godfrey (2008) did the most comprehensive research on recent migration patterns in the
Amazon, but there have been few significant contributions to that research since it was
first published in 1997. The present study on reverse migration is limited in scope, and
does not permit sweeping conclusions about migration in the region as a whole. It can
only offer an example from a specific area where dramatic migration patterns are evident
that may shed light on larger migration trends.

Browder and Godfrey (2008) revealed that urban to urban migration is the most
prominent pattern in the region today. Migrants are no longer moving to primary cities
because markets were saturated and living conditions precarious for the poor. Instead,
they are leaving large urban centers and moving to small and mid sized cities where
markets are less crowded, where there are more jobs, and where capital is easier to
accumulate. In the 12 years since their initial research, there has been a surge in
government assistance programs, rural infrastructure has improved thanks in part to
federal development initiatives, and rural economies are diversifying. I observed many
migrants who had left small agricultural villages for large urban centers, and then moved
from urban centers to a peri-urban area, Alter do Ch5o. I observed others who had made
a complete circle from the small agricultural towns of Piquiatuba and S50 Jorge to large
urban center and back again. I wanted to understand what kept these migrants on the

move and what they were ultimately hoping to find.

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5.1 Key Findings

The primary question this thesis seeks to answer is: what are the push and pull
factors determining why some traditional smallholder farmers migrate to cities, only to
return to live in rural areas again? The hope of achieving an education and formal
employment were the primary reasons my informants gave for leaving the countryside.
Migrants were significantly better educated than non migrants and demonstrated a strong
commitment to their children’s education, believing it was the key to a better life. Most
of the return migrants I studied lacked the skills to qualify for well paying jobs in the city
and endured a precarious existence in fringe neighborhoods and favelas which were
dangerous, crowded and lacking in many basic government services and infrastructure.
Some found it impossible to maintain their children in school on their meager incomes,
which largely defeated the purpose of moving to the city to begin with.

Seventy percent of my informants in Alter do Ch5o and 78% in S50 Jorge and
Piquatuba moved first to cities before moving to Alter do Ch5o or returning to the
countryside. They cited violence, lack of steady employment, and poor quality of life
among their reasons for leaving the cities. S50 Jorge and Piquatuba are more attractive
destinations for returning migrants than most rural villages. They have worked to
achieve certain amenities that set them apart from other communities, such as complete
primary and high school education, health posts, electricity, running water, and good
transportation, in addition to their proximity to a major urban center and abundant natural
resources. In addition, recently created government subsidies for the poor and pensions
for the elderly provide enough supplementary income to allow many people to persist in

the countryside who may otherwise have moved. For these reasons, small towns like

99

Alter do Ch5o, S50 Jorge and Piquiatuba are considered increasingly attractive in
comparison to major metropolises. Government subsidies are no substitute for jobs,
however, and the dearth of off-farm employment will continue to push young people to

urban centers until local economies diversify.

d . . . . . .
My 2n research question explores what this desrre to live In the countrysrde

might say about cultural identity. Are traditional Amazonian (Caboclo) identities
embedded within a livelihood strategy linked to rural landscapes? My data shows that
while most interviewees believed that their income had either remained stagnant or
deteriorated since they returned to the countryside, their quality of life improved
significantly. This would imply that economic gain is viewed as separate from and
secondary to quality of life. My informants who had moved to cities supported
themselves through unskilled wage labor which they used to purchase all of their
household necessities. While their earned incomes were higher in the city, they did not
feel that they were able to achieve the same standard of living in the city that they had in
the countryside, where they can supplement their incomes with agriculture, fish, game,
and wild fruit. In interviews, return migrants professed deep saudade, or longing, for the
countryside and their agricultural and extractivist traditions during their stint in the city.
Forty percent (8 people) of my informants in Alter do Ch5o cited the town’s rural
qualities as a major draw, particularly its peacefulness and abundant natural resources.
Nearly all of my informants in Alter do Ch5o and in the FLONA engaged in complex
livelihood strategies traditional to the Caboclo culture. Seventy five percent planted

native fruit and medicine trees, 65% picked wild fruit, 40% had home gardens, and 30%

100

fished regularly. These activities were essential to their survival and integral to their
notion of quality of life.

I cannot conclude, however, that in order to consider oneself a Caboclo one must
engage in the complex livelihood strategies traditional to Caboclos in the Amazon.
Increasing pride and visibility of the Caboclo identity in urban centers demonstrates that
Caboclo is a state of mind, and referring to oneself as a Caboclo is an expression of love
for Amazonian culture. This love may in fact be clouding the judgment of some of the
migrants I interviewed. The primary reasons my informants cited for moving to Alter do
Ch5o were education, employment and infrastructure, the very reasons they cited for
moving to large urban centers to begin with. Infrastructure and opportunity are far less
abundant in Alter do Ch5o, and migrants would be better off sticking it out in the city if
these are their priorities. One possible explanation for this incongruity may be that the
low quality of life these migrants experienced in cities overshadowed other benefits,
inspiring hope that all aspects of life would be better in a peri-urban area such as Alter do
Ch5o.

Finally, while my informants who had lived in major cities generally believed
their quality of life to be significantly better in Alter do Ch5o, Piquiatuba and S50 Jorge,
more than half were still not satisfied and would consider moving again if a better
opportunity were to arise. Without skills training and formal education, however, it is

unclear where these migrants can possibly go that would be an improvement.

101

5.2 Policy recommendations and areas for future research

There are more opportunities to make money in smaller cities and towns today
than there have ever been. Economies are diversifying (Mondardo 2006), infrastructure
is improving, and government assistance is widely available (Steward 2006). Despite
these improvements, 50% of interviewees in Uni5o and Nova Uni5o and 30% of
interviewees in the FLONA think of moving again. With little education or skills, where
will they go? It is uncertain recent improvements will be enough to secure these rural
and peri-urban populations in the long term. The economy will have to grow
substantially to offer employment for those who seek it. Production for urban centers,
particularly agriculture, is the best economic plan for the rural population (Steward
2006). However if government policies favoring large scale production continue, this
will not be possible. In that case, traditional farmers must draw strongly on their
dynamic adaptive capabilities to forge new livelihoods in an economy that no longer
supports small scale market oriented agricultural production.

If the Brazilian government seeks to avert further deterioration of its cities, reduce
rampant crime and prostitution, improve the quality of life for millions of its citizens, and
avoid a potential food crisis in the Amazon, it will have to improve conditions in the
countryside. To do this, the first most important step would be to encourage smallholder
agricultural production. Large scale agribusiness should be discouraged from producing
staples such as rice, beans and farinha which have been the cash crops of the Brazilian
peasant for hundreds of years. Greater availability of technical assistance and low
interest loans to help small farmers innovate and diversify their production is also

essential. Transportation vehicles, such as trucks and boats, as well as tractors, should be

102

made available to agricultural unions and cooperatives to increase production and help
bring products to market. Government agricultural drop off centers should be placed in
strategic locations to reduce transportation costs to large urban centers. Finally, the
government should fix prices for staple goods to ensure that all producers receive a fair
pnce.

The Amazon region is understudied in general. I am particularly interested in
economic questions, as they impact where people live, doing what, and in what
conditions. There is little recent research on migration in the Amazon region, particularly
urban to rural. New data on where the poor are currently living could help determine
how best to spend government dollars on poverty reduction and infrastructure projects.

Researching how well agricultural towns such as S50 Jorge and Piquiatuba are
able to sustain their populations over time, and what methods they use to grow their
economies, would help to demonstrate the extent to which government aid programs
stabilize rural populations. In determining the usefulness of these aid programs, it would
be valuable to study their impact on both rural and urban economies, particularly if they
promote reverse migration, or slow outmigration from rural areas.

Food security is a topic of urgent importance in the Amazon region. Regional
development planners need data on how the diversity and quantity of fresh produce
available in local markets is affected by the loss of small farmers.

Finally, the Indigenous Resistance movement is a new phenomenon in the
Amazon and there are no major publications on the subject. The extent to which

emergent indigenous communities are able to forge successful livelihood strategies will

103

in part determine their longevity. Socio-economic studies of these communities would be
a valuable contribution to new scholarship on this movement.

As agriculture fades as a way of life for small farmers, new opportunities are
presenting themselves in both rural and urban areas. Brazil’s economy is expanding, and
jobs are being created throughout the country. Without education and training, however,
young people from farming backgrounds will not be able to compete with their urban
counterparts. Many of the non farm jobs available in smaller towns go to more qualified
outsiders, depriving local youth of the opportunity to have a stable income in their home
towns. Expanding schools may help to level the playing field, enabling local youth who
identify with a rural way of life to qualify for these jobs and remain in the countryside.
Government subsidies together with an expanding economy are making it possible for
more non farmers to make a living in rural areas, and improvements in infrastructure and
education make rural life increasingly comfortable and attractive. Together, these factors
may reduce population pressure on urban centers as increasing numbers of people are

able to have a healthy and stable life in rural Amazonia.

104

APPENDIX
Survey Instrument
Household #
Gender of person being interviewed: M F

Age of person being interviewed:
Date of interview

Alter do Chfio
A Hggsehglg ang family
A-1) How old are you?

A-2) How many people live in your house?
What are their genders and ages?

A-3) How many children do you have?

A-4) How many members of your family live in the area?

A-S) How many members of your family live in Santarém?

A-6) How long have you lived here?

A-7) Do you feel at home here in this town?

A-8) Do you own your home?

B Migratign

B-1) Did you move here from somewhere else, and if so, from where?

B-Z) What were your motivations for moving away:

105

B-3)

3-4)

B-S)

B-6)

B-7)

B-8)

B-9)

B-10)

B-11)

a) Seeking improved education

b) Seeking improved employment
c) Seeking improved infrastructure
0) Seeking heathcare

e) Other

Did you own your home in your last place of residents?

Since arriving here, do you think your family’s situation has
a) Improved

b) Stayed the same

c) Gotten worse

Are there any advantages of living here, and if so, what are they?
a) Education

b) Employment

c) Infrastructure

d) Healthcare

e) Safety and tranquility

f) Other

Are you considering moving again? (If NO, skip 0-2 to 0-5)

If so, why?

a) Seeking improved education

b) Seeking improved employment
c) Seeking improved infrastructure
d) Seeking heathcare

e) Other

To where?
a) Rural area
b) Urban area

Do you consider moving to Santarém?

If so, what do you see as the advantages of living in Santarém?
a) Improved education

b) Improved employment

c) Improved infrastructure

(:1) Heathcare

e) Other

Have you ever lived in Santarém?

106

B-12) If yes, why did you leave?
a) Dangerous
b) Polluted
c) Lack of employment
d) Other

C-1) What do you think Alter do Ch5o needs to improve quality of life?

C-2) What is your most important economic activity?

C-3) How many economic activities are the primary breadwinners of the
household currently engaged in (both paid work and for subsistence)?

C-4) How many economic activities do the primary breadwinners engage in
during an average year?

C-S) What type of work did you do in your last place of residence?
C-6) How many different jobs have you had in the last decade?
C-7) As a result of these job changes, your economic standing has
a) Risen
b) Fallen
c) Remained the same
C-8) What kind of life do you want for your kids?
C-9) Do you plant fruit trees?
C-10) Do you keep chickens?
C-11) Do you fish?
C—12) Do you use medicinal herbs?
C-13) Do you pick wild fruit?
D E ti n
D-1) What is your level of education?
a) Illiterate

b) Write name and or can count
c) Elementary

107

0-2)

D-3)

0-4)

(1) Some high school

e) High school graduate
f) College

9) Graduate studies

What is the level of education of your parents?
a) Illiterate

b) Write name and or can count

c) Elementary

d) Some high school

e) High school graduate

f) College

9) Graduate studies

What is the level of education of your children?
a) Illiterate

b) Write name and or can count

c) Elementary

d) Some high school

e) High school graduate

f) College

9) Graduate studies

Will your children be

a) More educated than their parents
b) Less educated than their parents

c) Equally as educated as their parents

E 99mmgnig partigipgtign

E-1)
E-2)

E-3)

Do you participate in the community association?
Do you think your community association is well organized?

When you have a problem in your community, who do you go to for
assistance?

13 there anything else you would like to talk about?

Communities inside the TapajOS National Forest (FLONA)

108

A H ehl n f mil
A-1) How old are you?

A-2) How many people live in your household and what are their ages and
genders?

A-3) How many of your relatives live in this town?
A-4) How many of your relatives live in Santarém?
B Eggngmig agivitieg
B—1) What is your most important economic activity?
B-Z) How important is agriculture to your income
a) Vital
b) Very much
c) More or less
d) A little
e) Not at all
B-3) Do you have difficulty producing enough food?
B-4) Do you hunt, fish or gather other non timber forest products?
a) For consumption at home?
b) For sale?
c) Do you give game meat away to other members of your community?
B-S) How many economic activities do you currently have?
B-6) Have within a one-year cycle?
B-7) Are you from here?

B-8) If you are not from this town, where did you move here from?

B-9) If you are first generation in this town, where did your parents move
from?

B-10) Did you or your parents own their own land prior to moving here?

B—11) What was your, or your parents’ primary economic activity in their last
place of residents?

109

B-12) How many changes in occupation have you had over last 10 years?

B-13) Have you experienced a change in economic status as a result of changing
economic activity?
a) Risen
b) Fallen
c) Remained the same

B-14) What kind of life do you want for your children?

Envi nmen lkn wle e

C-1) How detailed is your understanding of local soils, species, rainfall and
other environmental conditions?

a) very
b) somewhat
c) a little

d) not really
e) not at all

C-2) Where did you acquire this information?

C-3) How many species of manioc do you know?

C-4) How many species of animals do you know?

C-5) Do you collect medicinal herbs?

C-6) If so, how many different medicinal herbs do you collect?

C-7) Do you teach your children the names of the animals, the trees and the
plants?

C-8) Does a lack of detailed knowledge about local species, soils and weather
patterns make it harder for you to survive here?

a) very
b) somewhat
c) a little

d) not really
e) not at all

C-9) How many wild species do you consume?

110

C-lO) How many cultivated species do you consume?

D E tion
D-1) What is your level of education?
a) Illiterate
b) Write name and or can count
c) Elementary
(I) Some high school
e) High school graduate
f) College
9) Graduate studies

D-2) What is the level of education of your parents?
a) Illiterate
b) Write name and or can count
c) Elementary
0) Some high school
e) High school graduate
f) College
9) Graduate studies

D-3) What is the level of education of your children?
a) Illiterate
b) Write name and or can count
c) Elementary
cl) Some high school
e) High school graduate
f) College
9) Graduate studies

D-4) Will your children be
a) More educated than their parents
b) Less educated than their parents
c) Equally as educated as their parents

111

E) Migratign
E-1) Did you move here from somewhere else?
E-2) If yes, what were your reasons for moving?
E-3) Since arriving here, do you think your family’s situation has
3) Improved: why?
b) Stayed the same: why?
c) Gotten worse: why?
E-4) Are you considering moving again?
E-5) If yes, what would be your reasons for moving?
a) Seeking improved education
b) Seeking improved employment
c) Seeking improved infrastructure
d) Seeking improved heathcare
e) Other
E-6) To where?
a) Rural area
b) Urban area
E-7) Do you think of moving to Santarém?
E-8) Have you ever lived in a city, and if so, which city?
E-9) Why did you leave?

E-10) What do you think this town needs most to improve quality of life for
residents?

E-11) What are the main benefits of living here?
E-12) What do you see as the advantages of living in a small, rural community?

13 there anything else you’d like to talk about?

112

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