Brazil is the Most Dangerous Country for Environmental Activists

By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The situation of environmental activists in Latin America is becoming increasingly precarious in the last ten years, 1179 attacks have been carried out in total against environmental activists in Latin America.

This is revealed by a recent study titled “The land of insurgents” (Tierra de resistentes).

The list of the most dangerous countries for environmental activists is spearheaded by Brazil, followed by Mexico. So far, a verdict has only been pronounced in only 50 of those cases.

The situation is especially critical in Brazil. Since the right-wing extremist Jair Bolsonaro has assumed the presidency, the country has been going through turbulent times.

In addition to that, Brazil is the most dangerous country to engage in environmental protection activities.

The study says that 1179 attacks have been carried out in the last ten years against activists who defended forests and water sources.

With 754 cases of police brutality, Brazil is the country with the most recorded incidents, followed by Mexico with 222 and Columbia with 180. With 18 incidents, Bolivia is the country with the least recorded assaults.

The study was conducted in Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru, and was financed by German Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in collaboration with Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW) and the editorial board of the news agency EFE.

“When we determined that this subject is related to human rights, and also concerns social activists, we have consulted the UN lists. Five of the countries which are part of the project occupy the first positions concerning the number of social activist homicides,” explained Dora Montero, board chairman of the news agency EFE.