ABSTRACT
Chico Mendes was born on 15 December 1944 on a rubber estate in Xapuri, Acre, in northwest Brazil. His parents had come from the northeast during the Second World War, having been sent to cut rubber for the Allied war cause. Chico Mendes knew that the future of the forests and of the rubber tappers were inextricably linked; that in order to secure a future for the people, the forests had to be protected and managed by those who understood the eco-system and how to live in it sustainably. Chico Mendes played a crucial role in negotiating with governments, with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Chico Mendes was well aware of the threat to his own life; perhaps he foresaw his death. The quotation at the opening of this account is taken from a letter he had written shortly before his assassination by the son of local cattle rancher Darli Alves da Silva.
