“If a heaven’s messenger got down and make me sure that my death would fortify our fight it would be worth. But public act and plentiful funeral wouldn’t save the Amazon rainforest. I want to live.” – Declaration given by Chico Mendes few time before die.

Biography

Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, known as Chico Mendes was born in December 1944. He was son of rubber gatherer, he had learnt his father’s profession when he was a child.
He began his life as a trade union leader in 1975 as the secretary of “Sindicato dos trabalhadores Rurais de Brasiléia”
On and after 1976 he started to participate of movements of the rubber gatherer against the deforestation. Those movements were called “empates”. They were pacific manifestations in which people protect the trees with their own bodies. They also defended the right of propriety of the land by the native inhabitant of the region.
In 1977 he is elected town councilor. As he fights against big groups interested in the exploration of the Amazon rainforest he started to be threaten of death in this same year.
In 1979 Chico Mendes promotes great discussions in which union popular and religious leaders take part. Because of this he was accused of subversion and suffered hard interrogatories and was secretly tortured. As he didn’t have a support he couldn’t denounce the fact.
Chico Mendes was the president of “Sindicato de Xapuri” of the first National rubber gatherer Meeting was created the CNS (Conselho Nacional dos Seringueiros).
In 1987 Chico Mendes is visited by members of ONU where they could see the devastation of the forest. Three months later the financing of many projects were suspended. And Chico Mendes is accused of prejudice the progress by farmers and politics from Acre. In this same year he receives the award “global 500”.
In 1988 he took part of the implantation of the fist Extractivest Reserves created in Acre state.

The murder

On December 22 of 1988 Chico Mendes is murdered at the door of his house. He was killed because of his intense fight to preserve the Amazon rainforest of the greediness of the farmers and other interests.
The justice condened the farmers Darly Alves da Silva and Darcy Alves da Silva considered responsible of his death to 19 years of prison in December of 1990.

Result

As results of Chico Mendes fights Brazil had in 2006 forty-three Extract Reserves (resex) which hold 40 thousand families what helps those families to get special programs of financiament and other social resurces as: schools and hospitals.
In 1989 the group: “Tortura Nunca Mais”, created the prize Chico Mendes Medal of Resistance, as a homage, not only to Chico Mendes but to all people or groups that fight for human rights.