The Pan Amazon as a hotspot of cultural diversity

The Amazon is renowned for its cultural diversity, particularly the ethnic diversity of its Indigenous nations, but also the cultural traditions of numerous other distinctive groups that have migrated into the Amazon over five centuries. The region’s demographic history reflects that of its constituent nations, all of which are an amalgam of Indigenous people who have interbred, to varying degrees, with immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia. This complex genetic history has been moulded by social, economic and political phenomena that have further differentiated the populations into a diverse assemblage of social groups. Knowing how people self-identify and view each other is essential when trying to understand how those cultural legacies influence the trajectory of Amazonian development.

Traditional communities

Social advocates and academics use this term to describe families with livelihoods that are highly dependent upon forest and aquatic resources. Their reliance on natural ecosystems is an integral part of their cultural tradition, and most view themselves, and are viewed by others, as stewards who will conserve forest resources for future generations.

Indigenous nations. There are more than 340 Indigenous groups in the Pan Amazon that self-identify with a specific ethnic lineage. Those with the strongest cultural identity continue to speak their native language and reside within territories they view as their ancestral homeland. This number includes communities that have experienced various amounts of cultural loss and/or modification of their cultural traditions, as well as urban dwellers who retain their ethnic identity while partially joining a different stakeholder group (urban proletariat or urban professional). They are present in all nine Amazonian jurisdictions and continue to fight for their cultural traditions and ancestral lands (see Chapter 11).

Ribeirinhos/ Ribereños. This social group resides on the main trunk of the Amazon River or one of its major tributaries (Tapajós, Xingu, Solimões, Negro, Madeira, Marañón, Ucayali, Huallaga). As their name implies, they rely on the natural resources of floodplain habitats, and many cultivate gardens for basic food crops. In Brazil, their cultural legacy began as detribalized Indigenous people in the eighteenth century and Caboclo settlers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For some, their territorial rights have been formalized by the creation of sustainable use reserves (RESEX, RDS, PAE). In Peru, most are detribalized Indigenous people who survived enslavement and persecution during the first rubber boom; their legal rights to forest and aquatic resources have yet to be legally recognized. In both countries, many urban residents are local migrants originating from these communities.

Seringueiros/Castañeros. These are descendants of rubber tappers, who pursue subsistence livelihoods in small forest communities. Most are descendants of men and women who migrated into the southwestern Amazon during the first or second rubber boom. In Acre and adjacent areas of Amazonas and Rondônia, in Brazil, they represent the third or fourth generation of Nordestinos and their use-rights to forest resources have been formalized in extractive reserves (RESEX, PAE). In Bolivia’s Pando and Peru’s Madre de Dios region, most are descendants of detribalized Indigenous people; many have been granted concessions to forest holdings either individually (Peru) or as cooperatives (Bolivia) and now self-identify as Castañeros, or Brazil nut collectors.

Quilombolas / Maroons. These are descendants of transported Africans who escaped their enslavers in the nineteenth century. In Brazil, they share landscapes with and pursue livelihoods similar to those of Ribeirinhos. In Suriname and French Guiana, their livelihoods are less linked to river habitats and depend more on subsistence agriculture. Some also work in small-scale gold mining.

Small landholders

The most numerous stakeholders in the rural Amazon are descended from settlers who migrated into the region after 1960. Defined by the size of their parcels, typically between forty and a hundred hectares, these family farmers own standalone properties or have permanent use rights within a communal landholding. Most have occupied their plots since the early stages of frontier development, but only a few have managed to formalize their land tenure (see Chapter 4). Historically, they have been a major source of deforestation in all Amazonian countries; production systems vary among regions, reflecting the diversity of soils, climate and tradition, as well as access to technology and markets.

Family farms. In Brazil, small farmers tend to be Caboclos, and many, but not all, are Nordestinos. Some occupy the hundred-hectare properties created by the Projeto Integral de Colonização (PIC) in the 1970s, while others reside in forty-hectare parcels located within the Projetos de Assentamentos (PA) established during the 1980s and 1990s. Significant numbers have appropriated public land opportunistically when and where it was available. Smallholders are ubiquitous throughout the Legal Amazon, but they dominate the physical, social and political landscape in Rondônia and selected municipalities in southeastern Pará. They produce a significant proportion of regional food staples (beans and farinha), and a few cultivate perennial cash crops, such as coffee and cacao; many, perhaps most, become livestock producers as pasture displaces cropland due to a lack of investment and access to technology.

Colonos / Campesinos / Interculturales. In the Andean Republics, small farmers occupy the largest spatial area and dominate the political landscapes of the Andean Amazon. Most have an Indigenous legacy, many speak Quechua or Aymara, but this group also includes individuals who self-identify as Mestizo. Almost all have migrated into the region from rural communities in the Andean Highlands where they are referred to as Campesinos. As pioneers, they have referred to themselves as Colonos or Colonizadores, an epithet now viewed unfavorably in Bolivia where the term Interculturales has gained currency. The new term, which was coined by social activists and academics, allows these migrants to retain their identity as Indigenous people while occupying landscapes where they are not native born. They are major producers of basic food staples, but also cultivate numerous cash crops, including coffee, cacao, oil palm and, of course, coca leaf.

Mennonites. Members of this religious faith first immigrated into the Bolivian Amazon in the mid-1970s and have since expanded their presence to cover more than one million hectares with a population estimated at about 100,000. Families own individual properties organized into self-governing colonies that have been established on large estates purchased from land speculators. Although their properties are small and their cultural heritage eschews many aspects of modern society, most use sophisticated technology to cultivate cash crops and raise livestock, while growing food for home consumption. Most have large families, which drives expansion into the forest frontier in Bolivia, particularly in Chiquitania; in the last decade, new colonies have been established in Amazonian Peru and on the Llanos de Orinoco in Colombia.

Wildcat Gold Miners. A diverse category that lays claim to small parcels on landscapes experiencing a gold rush, most notoriously within Indigenous territories and protected areas. Unlike their agriculturally oriented peers, they are not interested in obtaining title to a rural property, but a transient right (concession) to exploit mineral resources owned by the state.  They operate in all nine Amazonian jurisdictions with little regard for the law, ignoring regulations governing mineral rights, environmental management, labor relations and tax compliance. Eventually, they exhaust the easily exploitable gold in their parcel and either move on to a new gold rush or migrate to an urban area.

Cattle producers

Ranchers control more land in the Amazon than any other group. Rather than being defined by the size of their landholdings, however, they are recognized by their production system and its associated ‘cowboy’ culture. They include a diversity of producers with landholdings that range from several hundred to many thousands of hectares.

Large-Scale Family Ranchers. The stereotypical cattle rancher in Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia is a medium- to large-scale producer raising beef cattle on landholdings with a mosaic of cultivated pastures and remnant forest. Many are descended from pioneers who settled – and deforested – frontiers that have evolved into consolidated landscapes. They tend to be culturally conservative and hold conventional attitudes toward development. Sophisticated ranchers use credit and technology to increase productivity and improve their sustainability, while the less enlightened overgraze pastures and degrade the soil.

Small-Scale Cattle Producers. Smallholders also produce beef, particularly on the agricultural frontiers of the Andean Amazon where shifting agriculture has created a massive stock of pasture that a few landholders have consolidated into beef and dairy operations. Cattle production at this scale is common throughout the Brazilian Amazon, particularly in Rondônia, eastern Pará and northern Mato Grosso, where small landholders embrace a cultural lifestyle that venerates cattlemen and cowboys.

The corporate sector

Companies exercise vast power over the political economy at the national, regional and local level. Most are domestic corporations owned by affluent families operating within the framework of a dysfunctional legal system that fosters a cynical attitude grounded in self-interest. Many pursue business opportunities in multiple sectors, including in urban and rural markets, as well as across different production systems. A few have transitioned into publicly owned corporations that raise capital in their nation’s capital markets.

Agribusiness. The most dynamic group of businessmen in the Pan Amazon are the industrial-scale farmers producing food commodities for global markets. They typically use monoculture systems that maximize yields and profits. In Brazil and Bolivia, they produce soy, maize, sorghum, cotton and other row crops, while in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru they are more likely to grow perennial tree crops, such as oil palm or coffee. The scale of their operations, and their profits, is influenced by the commodity: row crops and plantations tend to be large-scale operations, while coffee is very difficult to cultivate at large scales.

Timber Sector. These companies harvest timber from land that belongs to somebody else, either through concessions from the state (Peru, Pará, Amazonas), contracts with private landholders (Mato Grosso, Bolivia) or illegal operations using third-party contractors (Rondônia, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia). Most commercialize their harvest in domestic markets, where concerns about sustainability are nonexistent or easily circumvented. A few seek to maximize their earnings by specializing in foreign markets that demand evidence that their practices are sustainable.

Extractive Sector. Multinational corporations operating enormous open-pit mines or complex oil and gas fields garner most of the public’s attention, but this category also includes state-owned oil companies and ‘junior’ gold miners operating on landscapes shared by wildcat miners. The sector provides economic opportunity to hundreds of medium- to small-scale service providers that employ hundreds of thousands of technicians and professionals. Many embrace the language of sustainability, even though they are exploiting a nonrenewable resource while supporting the conventional economic models upon which their livelihoods depend.

The coercive powers of the state

The state is, or should be, a vitally important actor on the forest frontier. When they are present and effectively execute their tasks, state agencies can make an enormous contribution to avoiding or resolving conflicts among diverse stakeholders. Advocates for forest conservation often speak of the need, or the potential, for law-and-order solutions to the many challenges related to deforestation. Unfortunately, state representatives are seldom present with sufficient power to influence events, or they exacerbate situations because of their proclivity to tolerate corrupt practices. Many hold conservative views on social issues and conventional views on development.

Military. Much of the Amazon is located near a foreign border and, although the threat from neighboring governments is nonexistent, criminal elements use wilderness areas to organize illegal activities. The armed forces routinely assist elected officials and judicial authorities in enforcing the law throughout the Pan Amazon. Military involvement in civilian affairs is also an unfortunate legacy of each country’s recent past. They exert influence at the national, regional and local level and, although their power is constitutionally limited, they still express their opinions and influence the national debate on development. For example, they almost uniformly support road construction.

Police. The police are one of the most problematic institutions in Latin America. They have a well-earned reputation for corruption and abuse and consequently lack the respect of the communities they are constitutionally charged with serving. Part of their negative legacy stems from a recruitment process that favors nepotism, which has created a clannish group that is socially isolated from other sectors of society. Despite their multiple flaws, they are essential for effective governance and are particularly critical for establishing the presence of the state in pioneer landscapes.

Prosecutors. The proactive measures essential for law enforcement are the domain of prosecuting attorneys. Police cannot intercede to stop illegal actions without an order from a district attorney, nor can a judge issue a ruling unless a prosecutor brings a case before the court. Prosecuting attorneys have enormous power in dysfunctional legal systems where an indictment can take a decade to resolve, and which consider the defendant guilty until proven innocent. Peru and Brazil have harnessed these powers to fight environmental crimes by creating specialized prosecutors who lead joint operations with police, tax authorities and environmental authorities to combat illegal logging, land clearing and gold mining.

Judges. Environmental crimes are adjudicated by a judge who also has the power to dismiss the case or emit a ruling based on evidence and law. They can imprison or release the defendant pending trial. These powers have been used to dilute the potency of environmental laws, particularly for influential or affluent defendants who ‘convince’ judges to delay court cases for years and, in the interim, avoid paying fines.

Criminal mafias

The Amazon is often portrayed as an anarchic frontier where fraud is viewed as a customary business practice and violence is widespread. These are, perhaps, exaggerated elements of a frontier society, but they accurately describe criminal gangs that openly defy the power of the state and prey on citizens unable to protect themselves. These come in several permutations, typically associated with a specific illegal activity.

Drug syndicates. The most infamous are the Colombia gangs that have focused the attention of governments and movie makers for decades, as well as their erstwhile collaborators descended from Marxist guerillas or right-wing militias. Similar cocaine-fueled mafias operate in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, where they have infiltrated the judicial and political spheres; most have commercial ties to the urban mafias that control the drug trade in Brazil. All these criminal syndicates communicate with and commercialize their production via equally powerful and sinister consortia in North America, Africa and Europe.

Sindicato Mineros. The gold fields of the Amazon are generating billions of dollars annually, by mining a global commodity that dwarfs the monetary return of conventional and sustainable businesses. There are sporadic reports that drug cartels are also involved in organizing or controlling the illicit activities in the gold fields. This would appear to be untrue or exaggerated, however, as the gold fields are occupied by fiercely independent individuals who have organized their illegal networks internally from the ground up. They collaborate to sell their gold overseas, perhaps with the assistance of the drug syndicates that use gold markets to launder their ill-gotten gains, military officers (Venezuela), or via merchants commercialising mercury, a loosely regulated mineral that is acquired through a black market that originates in Bolivia (see Chapter 5).

Land grabbers. Frontier societies are renowned for lawlessness and impunity, particularly when it pertains to land tenure, where the adage ‘possession is nine-tenths of the law’ reigns supreme. Unscrupulous individuals forge documents and forcefully occupy public lands or expel less powerful landholders with ill-defined or communal land tenure rights. Known as grileiros in Brazil, they employ lawyers to process the paperwork while deploying thugs, known as Jagunços, to occupy and clear the land of previous settlers. The same phenomena occur in Spanish-speaking countries, where the bosses are known as traficantes de tierra and their ruffians are ominously referred to as matones.

Civil society and religious organizations

The weakness of the state has highlighted the importance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provide health and educational services, while acting as advocates for democracy, environmental conservation and social justice. As a group, these provide a moral counterweight to many of the forces that make frontier societies unfair, representing both conservative and progressive viewpoints that reflect the diversity of Pan Amazonian society.

The Catholic Church. The oldest non-governmental organization has a long tradition of working with marginalized communities. The Catholic religion is deeply imbued with a social mission to assist the poor, and the Church has spawned innumerable charitable works supported by an international network of donors, priests, bishops and religious men and women, as well as the participation of the communities they serve. The Church simultaneously represents progressive and conservative parishioners. It often acts as a partner of the state and has contributed to a cultural legacy open to objective criticism.

Evangelical churches. The Pan Amazon has long been the object of missionary activity on the part of Christian churches that compete for the affection of the faithful, including both mainstream Protestant churches and fundamentalist sects commonly referred to as Evangelicals. The latter attained prominence, first by their missionary activities among Indigenous communities (1920–1980) and later by their success in attracting millions of the urban and rural poor. Evangelical pastors and their flocks tend to be socially conservative and have formed political coalitions with economic actors that some observers describe as reactionary.

Environmentalists. The stereotypical view of a non-governmental organization in the Pan Amazon is one dedicated to environmental issues. Originally focused on biodiversity conservation, they now have a diversified policy agenda that includes protecting ecosystem services and addressing multiple aspects of climate change, particularly the fight against deforestation. Although most are local grassroots organizations, many have links with international NGOs and form alliances with social advocates and Indigenous organizations.

Social advocates. Many stakeholders in the Pan Amazon form part of a culturally conservative, patriarchal society; however, transformative change is underway particularly as social media impacts life and social mores in the region. Unlike the environmental advocates, who have strong support from private organizations, these groups rely more on support from multinational or binational development organizations. Traditionally, they have focused on economic justice and women’s rights, but are increasingly addressing broader gender issues.

Urban society

The urbanization of the Amazon has empowered stakeholder categories that are often overlooked when describing the social and economic actors who will decide the fate of the Amazon Forest and its natural ecosystems. They overlap with many of the previously described stakeholder groups, but they merit special attention because of their demographic dominance.

Professional elites. A highly educated cohort, including physicians, lawyers, engineers, accountants, economists, managers, educators and others with a university education. Most come from middle-class families, but they also include individuals who have improved their social and economic status by hard work and perseverance. Many, perhaps most, support environmental causes and social justice while living conventional lifestyles.

Entrepreneurs. Influential individuals who create jobs and drive economic growth, with educational and social backgrounds similar to those of professionals, including both upper and lower middle-class cohorts. They have more influence, however, because of their power and prestige as successful businessmen and women. They tend to be socially conservative and committed to conventional economic models, but will pursue ‘green’ business models – if they are lucrative.

Functionaries. A cadre of individuals with varying educational backgrounds who provide administrative and technical services in both the private and public sectors. In the private sector, many have obtained their jobs because of familial or social contacts, while in the public sector those advantages are often accompanied by political patronage.

Proletariat. The largest cohort of individuals and families in the Amazon. They include tens of thousands of blue-collar workers in the construction trades, manufacturing industries and service sector, as well as the rural families who have established a second home in an urban center to ensure their children have access to secondary education.

Banner image: Aerial view of the city of Loreto, Ecuador. Credit: Rhett A. Butler.

“A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” is a book by Timothy Killeen and contains the author’s viewpoints and analysis. The second edition was published by The White Horse in 2021, under the terms of a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

To read earlier chapters of the book, find Chapter One here, Chapter Two here, Chapter Three here, Chapter Four here and Chapter Five here.

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