Brazil Rubber Tapper

The Brazilian Rubber Tapper Movement began in 1975 with the formation of the first Tapper Union, in the state of Acre. The Rubber Tappers, or Seringueiros, unionized as a result of increased state support deforestations. The state wanted to clear forest for more profitable cattle ranching and for road projects. The Tappers have successfully and sustainable tapped rubber from the trees for generations. However, the state sponsored construction of road BR-317 threatened to destroy the trees and therefore the livelihood of the Rubber Tappers. The Catholic Church actively participated in the construction of the unions.The unions organized traditional nonviolent empates where groups of Seringueiros confronted deforestation ranchers. From the early unionizing grew of movement’s most eloquent and influential leader, Chico Mendes. He later became the international symbol for the movement.

The internationalization of the movement came wit

h the help of Mary Allegretti, an anthropologist from the University of Brasilia. She worked to publicize the struggle between the state supported ranching and the tappers in the local newspaper, the Varadouro. This newspaper soon became the voice of the Acres Seringueiro. These reports attracted the attention of Tony Gross, of Oxfam’s Brazilians office. The connection to international NGOs grew and eventually many Washington DC based groups became involved with the movement to prevent the deconstruction to the forest. The groups focused their attention on building of the road BR 364. Which had the potential to cause massive deforestations. The connection between the Seringueiro’s and the international NGO spread the local movement around the globe allowing it to gain financial and informational support; in effect empowering the movement. New identities, which linked traditional relations, blurred the lines between domestic and international issues, thus demonstrating the porous nature of territorial and national boundaries and challenging state sovereignty.

The internationalizing of the Rubber Tapper Movement led to the transfer of money across geographical borders. These funds were used to support activities that went against state policy. For instance Tony Gross of Oxfam pledged monetary support for the early formation of rubber tapping cooperatives and schools in 1983. Later that year, the Brazilian army raided the school searching for the evidence for the guerrilla activity and subversive literature. Oxfam also funded the first meeting of 120 Seringueiro leaders in Brasilia, which ultimately grew in to National Council of Rubber Tappers, a permanent entity. As more international NGOs became involved with the Seringueiro movement more money entered Brazil. The Ford Foundation, which was egar to foster sustainable development in to Brazil, provided grants to the council for the establishment of extractive reserves. The Gaia foundation also provided a stipend to the movement. The money flowed in to the country from outside forces and activities in opposition to the state. The international NGOs directly intervened in the domestic affairs of the state and proved that the state was not able to hold absolute supremacy over other authorities within that territory or population.
Similar to the transfer of funds, the transfer of information in and out of Brazil illustrates the state’s porous borders and the decline of its sovereignty. Unlike monetary transfer, however, the transfer of information flowed in both directions. In other words, NGOs provided the Seringueiros with information and likewise the Seringueiros provided the NGOs with information. This two way flow is shown best by the environmentalization of the local movement. Previous to Allegetti’s meeting with Washington environmental organizations, the movement had focused on the effect of deforestation on the rubber tapper’s livelihood. Allegretti realized, however that the movement “could gain enormous strength”, if they emphasized the ecological aspect of its activities. Soon after she arrived in Brazil, Mendes and other Seringueiro leaders drew up a manifesto demanding rights for the Rubber Tappers, declaring that they “were the defenders of the forest.” This statement showed that movement wanted to save the rain forest for the sake of the people as well as for the sake of the forest itself. Thus, the transfer of information into the movement gave it strength.

Important information also spread from the Rubber Tapper Movement to the northern environmental NGOs. First, the movement allowed Steve Schwartzman and Bruce Rich, of the Environmental Defence Fund, to add a “human” aspect to their campaign to halt development in the rainforest. This aspect strengthened their fright with the international development agencies like IMF and the World Bank. It gave “them people to fight for not just birds and trees”. Northern NGOs fought with the World Bank over the failed Rondonia Road Project for years and increased its ammunition against the development projects with this information. However, the most important information that spread from Amazonia was Chico Mende plan for the creation of extractive rubber reserves. The plan called for the establishment of protected lands in which Seringueirous would be able to sustainable cultivate rubber to sell. This plan allowed the NGOs to provide the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) with a crucial alternative to the old-fashioned, from the top down development of the Amazon. Again the transactional alliances fostered the transfer of information from the South to the North, giving the NGOs more firepower. This plan was successful in stopping IDB funding of the BR-364 roads through Acre. In Both cases the transactional alliances allowed for the transfer of information across the state borders. The movement and the NGOs used this information to work against the states plans.

The internationalisation of the Rubber Tapper Movement created new identities in opposition to the state. The movement’s early connections to Oxfam allowed for the creation of the Council of Rubber Tappers. It was this organization that was approached by the Union of Indigenous Peoples, which proposed establishing relations between the two groups. These two groups had been traditional enemies for many years. Yet soon formed the Alliance of People of the forest. This umbrella organization represented countless groups in opposition to state sponsored ranching and road construction. Mendes later recalled: “People became amazed at the time saying, ‘Indians and rubber tappers together? Didn’t you fight before? Weren’t you enemies? And we responded, “We understand today that our fight is the same one”.
The transactional alliances between Northern NGOs and the Seringueirs movement were successful in changing both the World Bank and the Brazilian policy. The local movement empowered with their connection to internatioal environmental NGOs and influenced the states action. Extractive reserves were created to protect the Seringueiros and their livelihood. Millions of acres of rainforest were set aside as a result of the porous nature of territorial and national borders. Information and funds passed effortlessly across the geographical borders, showing the state’s inability to control all activities within its territory. Also, new identities were created in opposition to the state. The internationalisation of the movement involved international actors directly intervening in domestic affairs, challenging the tenets of the Peace of Westphalia and thus states sovereignty. A similar challenge to state sovereignty is posed by the internationalisation of the Narmada Bachavo Andolan in Gujarat, India.