Sergio Vale/divulgação A window to the road at home in Acre
Set in the extreme western end of northern Brazil, Acre is small by Amazonian standards, with a total area of 153,150 square kilometers. It is bordered by Amazonas to the north and northwest, Bolivia to the south and Peru to the south and southwest. Its topography is mostly flat, except for the Serra do Divisor highlands near the Peruvian border. With 85% of its original rainforest intact, Acre ranks first among Brazilian states in forest preservation. The canopy is roughly uniform, varying between 25 and 35 meters in height. Nearly one-third of the state’s territory is occupied by indigenous reservations.
The climate is tropical and humid. The average annual temperature is 25 degrees centigrade. Annual rainfall varies between 1,600 and 2,750 millimeters and the average monthly humidity levels hover between 80-90%. The period of the most intense rainfall, known as “inverno” (winter), runs from November to April. The rest of the year is called the “seca” or dry season even though rain is common.
The state’s connections to the rest of the country are primarily by air and river. Only one highway, BR-364, which runs through Rondônia to the central western region, connects it to the rest of Brazil. Many citizens of Acre follow this route for nearly 3,000 kilometers to Goiânia when they need sophisticated medical procedures not available in the state.
The state’s population is 547,000, including about 9,000 indigenous people divided into 12 different language groups. Some experts believe that the state may be home to indigenous tribes that have not yet made contact with western civilization. The bulk of Acre’s population consists of the descendants of migrants from the Brazilian northeast who came in the late-19th and mid-20th centuries.
The region was part of Bolivia when the first wave of these pioneers arrived with the rubber boom. In 1882 Brazilian rubber tappers founded the town Seringal Empresa. Beginning in 1893 Brazilians engineered a series of armed revolts against Bolivian rule. In the midst of one such conflict, Spanish adventurer Luís Galvez proclaimed a short-lived independent “empire.” The Bolivians accepted defeat in 1903 and signed a treaty that relinquished control in exchange for cash and a Brazilian promise to build a railway that would allow the Bolivians to access the river transportation network through the Amazon. The treaty was negotiated by the Brazilian diplomat Baron of Rio Branco; Seringal Empresa was eventually named after him and became the capital. Acre remained a Brazilian territory until 1962 when it won statehood.
The bottom fell out of the rubber economy when Asian production began in the early 20th century. During World War II, the United States and Brazilian governments encouraged greater rubber production in the Amazon, and a new wave of northeastern immigrants descended on Acre. After the war they stayed on to eek out a living from latex. In the 1970s the Brazilian government began to encourage logging, cattle ranching and other large-scale endeavors in the Amazon. In Acre small-scale rubber tappers resisted with a strategy of physically occupying areas slated for deforestation. The tactic was named “empate” or tie. The leader of the movement was Chico Mendes. In 1988 Mendes was gunned down by local landowners, making him the world’s first eco-martyr. His protégé Marina Silva became a senator and then environmental minister in the Lula cabinet. Mendes’ legacy remains alive in the sustainable development policies adopted by state leaders since the late 1990s. These include the establishment of “extractive reserves” from which logs, rubber and other products are taken in a sustainable manner. Also since the 1990s, the illegal drug trade has spilled over from neighboring countries, bringing with it increased corruption and violence.
Marcio Souza 
