
After the decimation of the local indigenous population in the seventeenth century an estimated 3.65 million enslaved Africans were imported to Brazil, and the majority of these were brought to Brazil's first capital, Salvador da Bahia. Urban slave labour differed from plantation life; slaves were not passive victims of the system and many escaped to found their own 'quilombos'.
Brazil did not abolish slavery until 1888. Initially the Portuguese authorities promoted miscegenation as a way of ensuring a Portuguese presence in under-populated regions. But, fearing the rising black population Brazil, subsequently opened its country to white immigrants, who were given preference over black people in jobs, housing and education.
The Brazilian policy of 'whitening' has denied the existence of ethnic minorities. Those unable to express themselves in the national language have been banned from voting. Since the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Xenophobia and related forms of Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa in 2001, Brazil has taken important steps to recognize the diversity of the nation, although the country still has a long way to go in order to reach racial equality.
Environmental issues dominated the latter part of 1988 and much of 1989 when the murder of Francisco (Chico) Mendes, founder of the National Council of Rubber Tappers Union, brought Brazil's environmental problems to international attention. One of his close followers, Marina da Silva, currently serves as the Brazilian Minister for the Environment. Mendes' efforts led to the creation of 150,000 acres of extractive reserves, which have allowed rubber tappers to extract commercial products from the trees within this territory. As the Brazilian government continues discussions of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon River and other mega-projects, these tappers remain threatened.
International environmental organizations like Greenpeace have condemned the damage caused by large-scale development projects such as cattle ranching, industrial logging, and 'slash and burn' farming techniques of peasant smallholders. In addition, the activities of an estimated 60,000 gold prospectors in the Amazon region has led to the release of large amounts of mercury into the environment. This continues to present a serious threat to the indigenous population and the rain-forest.
International criticism of the government's poor response to the threat to the environment persisted throughout the early 1990s. Of particular concern to many international observers was the plight of the Yanomami. The National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) was heavily criticized for failing to provide effective protection and support for Brazil's indigenous population. A new cabinet post of Minister with Special Responsibility for the Brazilian Amazon was created after the Yanomami massacre at Haximú in 1993. In June 1992 Brazil hosted the UN Conference on Environment and Development – otherwise known as the Earth Summit.
According to Survival International, in 2007 the Brazilian Socio-Economic-Environmental Institute began coordinating the 'Y Ikatu' or 'Good water' campaign to save the headwaters of the Xingu River, which is a major tributary of the Amazon. The campaign involves a combination of efforts and collaboration from the indigenous peoples of the region, as well as NGOs and farmers. Over the last 10 years, deforestation along the Xingu's headwaters has doubled. Eighteen tribes with a population of 10,000 live in this region and are dependent on the rivers for fish and drinking water. The Xingu park is home to 14 of these indigenous tribes, but the headwaters of the river lie outside the park and are therefore unprotected. Some tributaries have already dried up due to deforestation and forest fires.
Indigenous land rights
The 1988 Brazilian Constitution guaranteed indigenous forest peoples rights to inhabit their ancestral lands, though not their legal right to own them. It made no provision for land reform. In April 2005, after much delay, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio 'Lula' da 