Acre and environmentalism I

Acre's recent history has been marked by a concern with environmental issues.

Over the past two decades, the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) has gone from zero to hero in Acre, especially in the person of current governor Jorge Viana. Viana, now serving his second 4-year term as the state's governor, was previously mayor of the capital, Rio Branco. His administration has been known as the "Government of the Forest," a phrase which, depending on your political inclinations, is either an affirmation of Acre's need for sustainable policy or a ploy designed to capitalize on the international attention lavished on the state after rubber tapper and labor activist Chico Mendes was gunned down in 1988.

Over the next few posts I will look at a few of the ways that environmentalism has become a moving force in the Acrean political scene.