Word: rubber
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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Just as the auto industry determines the basic health and output of a host of other industries (steel, plastics, rubber), the American entertainment business has become a driving force behind other key segments of the country's economy. As a result of this so-called multiplier effect, the products and profits of dozens of U.S. industries are umbilically tied to American entertainment: fast food, communications technology, sportswear, toys and games, sporting goods, advertising, travel, consumer electronics and so on. And the underlying strength of the American economy, many economists believe, has a lot to do with...
...stunning admission came as Darci Alves da Silva, 23, and his rancher father, Darly Alves da Silva, 54, went on trial in the Amazonian town of Xapuri last week for the murder of Francisco ("Chico") Mendes, the Brazilian rubber tapper and defender of the rain forests who became an environmental martyr after a single shotgun blast killed him in 1988. Asked by the judge if he "carried out" the murder, Darci answered, "I confirm...
That will not satisfy the seringueiros, who think Mendes' death was the product of a conspiracy that included some of the region's more powerful landowners and politicians. "Putting the Da Silvas in jail is not the solution," says Rosa Maria Roldan of the National Council of Rubber Tappers. "The only real way justice will be served is if the government gets to the roots of who was behind Chico's death." Roldan and others fear that once the trial is over and the spotlight gone, the violence against rubber tappers will resume...
Whatever happens, Mendes' message did not go unheard. One of his aims was to create reserves in which rubber tappers and Indians could live off the land without destroying the forest. Earlier this year, Brazil created its first such refuge, named after Mendes, in the Jurua River valley near Xapuri. Since then, the government has established three more. In those areas at least, the people of the Amazon have a better chance to survive, thanks to Chico Mendes...
...Chico Mendes' alleged killers finally reach trial, but a conviction would not end the fight between ranchers and rubber tappers in the rain forest...