Where is the Chico Mendes Foundation located?
-We are located in Xapur do Acre, in the state of Acre, the place where we used to live, where he was murdered, and the center of his struggle. -How did your fathers death occur? -During the 1980s, state violence in Acre was very strong, it was an everyday thing. Several social and union leaders had been murdered in clashes with gunmen hired by the fazendeiros (large landowners). In 1987, concerned that the construction of the federal highway BR 364, financed by the IDB, was causing a huge devastation in our state, my father, Chico Mendes, traveled to the United States to address that countrys Senate, where he denounced what was happening in Acre. The immediate result was the suspension of financing for the highway. -How did the powerful react to this? -This triggered a series of public accusations against him, claiming that he was trying to prevent the states development. From then on, the threats, which were already common, became constant, continuous. That same year, the UN awarded
