Hello Andy,"How do you stop a sovereign nation using its natural resources as it sees fit."Funny, I have never considered the rainforest to be a natural resource. Odd? I learnt at school that the Amazon was the lungs of the world and that Brazil's natural resources consisted of iron ore, petroleum, manganese, bauxite, steel, timber, plastics, precious stones or gems (aquamarines, emeralds among others), phosphates. Unfortunately, most of them are exploited by international firms and the profits go... elsewhere!There are indigenous tribes living in the rainforest, who are being evicted for the so-called farms.Coffee is very big in Brazil (you could have coffees for free in the 80s).Farming has grown tremendously particularly since Argentina stopped exporting its beef due to internal politics.One must not forget that corruption is rife there, unfortunately. I think this is the cause of much of the poverty in the country.
Ivonne Holliday ● 2688d