Santarem, in the Brazilian state of Para, is the heart of the Amazon—situated halfway between Manaus to the west and Belem to the east. The small city is also at the confluence of two powerful and important rivers—the blue Rio Tapajos and the muddy Rio Amazonas.
Santarem has become the focal point of Brazil’s burgeoning soybean boom. Since 1995, soy production in the Amazon has increased tenfold. Most soy is planted along a controversial “soy highway” that crosses a rich tropical savannah known as the Cerrado and ends in the Amazon rainforest near Santarem. Eighty percent of the Cerrado has already been destroyed by industrial agriculture.
Cargill, which has operated in Brazil since 1965, was quick to see soy’s lucrative potential in Santarem, and in 1999 began construction on a $20 million port on the banks of the Tapajos. The Santarem port would allow Cargill to ship its soy cargo eastward down the Amazon and directly to Europe, cutting transport costs by two-thirds.
Local activists and environmental groups immediately warned that the port’s presence would encourage more soy production in the region and accelerate deforestation. The Santarem Federal Court ordered Cargill to suspend construction until a proper Environmental Impact Assessment was completed and approved. The company appealed and was allowed to continue construction, completing and opening the port in 2003. As predicted, rates of deforestation immediately doubled. That year, 4,600 square miles of soy were planted, and 6,950 square miles of rainforest were lost. Soy became the greatest driver of deforestation in the Amazon.
The Brazilian Federal Tribunal then ordered Cargill to close the port and pay compensation for the environmental damages. Cargill filed an appeal with the Supreme Court and continued to operate. In March 2007, the Supreme Court ruled against Cargill, and federal police and environmental agents shut down the port.
Cargill ignored the Supreme Court’s decision, illegally opening the port yet again within 20 days. Community members and environmental groups continue to battle the company. They are deeply concerned about Cargill’s plans to expand north of Santarem. “Cargill is a giant monster that has come to our community and is swallowing up the Amazon,” said Father Edilberto Sena, member of the Amazon Defense Coalition of Santarem.
