Early morning on the Iriri River during the flood season
Miner listens to the radio while watching a soccer match at Vila Canopus. The village used to be the workers camp for a deactivated cassiterite mine operated by the French corporation Rhodia. A small community of miners lives in the infrastructure left behind by the company, making a living from mining the large deposits of rejected material in search of any leftover minerals
The Silva family at their small property along a clandestine road crossing the Terra do Meio Ecological Station. The Silvas are poor settlers who left their home in Maranhão, the second poorest state in Brazil, to try their luck in Terra do Meio
The Silva family at their small property along a clandestine road that crosses the Terra do Meio Ecological Station. The Silvas are poor settlers who left their home in Maranhão, the second poorest state in Brazil, to try their luck in Terra do Meio
Cowboy conducting cattle herd on it's three week long journey from RedenÁ„o, 600 KM to the southeast, to a farm deep in the Terra do Meio, through the Trans-Iriri road . The Trans-Iriri road crosses the Terra do Meio, going west from S„o FÈlix do XingË™ until the Iriri river. Terra do Meio (portuguese for Land in the Middle) is the last untouched ecosystem in heavily deforested southern Par· state, the second biggest state in the Brazilian Amazon. The region already has a catlle herd estimated in 400.000 heads, grazing pastures that are fastly replacing the natural forest. The properties have no land titles and were mostly grabbed illegaly from Federal Government lands. The region has a reputation of violent lawlessness and some of its farmers have confirmed ties with drug cartels in Colombia. Brazil's aleged biggest cocaine dealer, Leonardo Dias MendonÁa, was a popular and proeminent farmer residing in neighboring Tucum„, with gigantic farms in the Terra do Meio.
A resident of Irinópolis, a small village inside the Terra do Meio Ecological Station
Group of evangelical Christians arrive for on an afternoon of barbecue and prayers at a small property near Irinópolis, a small village inside the Terra do Meio Ecological Station
A cattle rancher in Terra do Meio
Patch of forest in Terra do Meio burnt to make way for pastures
Meat hanging in the sun do dry at a small property on the margins of the Iriri River, in Terra do Meio
Shot 12 gauge gun cartridges found in an abandoned campsite believed to have been used by lang grabbers accused of trying to force longtime residents of Terra do Meio from their land
Abandoned Bible found in an abandoned campsite believed to have been used by lang grabbers accused of trying to force longtime residents of Terra do Meio from their land
Preacher Francisco dos Santos holds his Bible in his improvised church in the village of Irinóplis, which is also known in the region as Vila dos Crentes (Village of the Believers in Portuguese) because the majority of its population is made up of evangelical Christians
A calendar on the wall of a house on the margins of the Iriri River
Mother with her two children at their home on the margins of the Iriri River
Illegal logger rests after work at a camp in Terra do Meio
Mingote, a settler in a land reform project created by the Brazilian government near the BR 163 highway before the creation of the Terra do Meio Ecological Station
Dog stands on a fallen log in a cattle ranch in Terra do Meio

Terra do Meio

Andre Vieira

Photographer and video journalist based in Portugal
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