On this map, the area delineated in red is the State of Pará.
As you can see, it's in the far Northeastern part of the country.
Pará, and the state to the west of it, (Amazonas) are Brazil's two largest.
And they have long been a battleground...
between those attempting to preserve the Amazon rainforest...
...and a consortium of greedy ranchers and loggers set upon destroying it.
They make Pará a very dangerous place for anyone who "stands in the way of progress".
Chico Mendes, a rubber tapper, tried it.
So did Dorothy Stang, an American nun.
Both were murdered.
Last week, it was the turn of Zé Claudio and Maria da Silva, a husband and wife team of environmental activists.
Ambushed near the little town of Nova Ipixuna, in the southeastern part of the state, they were forcibly removed from their vehicle and shot.
And then one of José Claudio’s ears was cut off – the calling card of a hired gunman.
There is no one better to tell his story than Zé Claudio himself:
The recording was made just six months ago.
In it, he predicts his own murder.
What he doesn’t say is that he’d sought police protection, but was never able to get it.
Now that Zé Claudio and Maria are gone, the question activists in the Amazon are asking themselves is:
Which one of us is it going to be the next time?
Because none doubt there will be a next time.
A report compiled by Brazil’s Catholic Land Commission lists 154 people who’ve been killed between 2006 and 2010.
And 250 more still living under the threat of murder.
All because they’re trying to prevent activities which are illegal under Brazilian law.
But which the government, by and large, is either unable or unwilling to put a stop to.
You thought the gun-toting frontier of song and legend was dead?
Think again.
It's alive and kicking in Pará.
Leighton - Monday
