Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Killings and repression of defenders · Brazil · 1988–2024

Chico Mendes murder (Brazil)

Nature's voice · report
In 2019, 74.5 square kilometres of my forest in the reserve were cleared, about three times the average of the previous five years.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
Recorded
  • Cattle stood on 97% of the plots that were examined. Mongabay
  • By 2023 pasture covered 11% of my reserve, 105,000 hectares.
  • In 2024 clearing in the reserve rose by 30%.
People
  • 1 people died.
    Chico Mendes, shot in Xapuri on 22 December 1988.
What the record lacks: 2 insufficient · 1 not measured · 2 disputed See the gaps

Chico Mendes, a rubber tappers' leader who opposed forest clearing for cattle ranching, was shot at his home in Xapuri, Acre, on 22 December 1988. A rancher and his son were sentenced to 19 years each, and the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve was created in March 1990.

2 convicted, 19 years eachConvictions for the killing of Chico Mendes (1988)
Rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darci Alves Pereira, as reported by Agência Senado (2013).

Status As of the latest dates in the sources reviewed (2024): the two men were sentenced to 19 years; the reserve exists and clearing in it rose 30% in 2024.

What?
Chico Mendes, a rubber tappers' leader, was shot at his home; the killers were sentenced and a protected reserve was later created in his name. Agência Senado
Where?
Xapuri, Acre, Brazil; the reserve spans four municipalities in Acre. Agência Senado
When?
22 December 1988 (killing); 12 March 1990 (reserve created); clearing records for 2019, 2023 and 2024.
Who?
Gained
  • Ranchers on the reserve's border — Met the Environment Minister in 2019. Mongabay
Lost
  • Chico Mendes — Killed on 22 December 1988. Agência Senado
  • Wilson Pinheiro, union president — Killed in 1980; no one was tried.
  • A party official — Killed in 2019 in a land dispute in Xapuri.
Harmed
  • Rubber tappers — Seasonal, informal Brazil nut income leads families to keep cattle as savings; some sell plots illegally to ranchers.
Why?
Mendes opposed ranch expansion and forest clearing for cattle and had lobbied the IDB over its financing of the BR-364 highway in 1987. the sources reviewed does not state a court-found motive. Wikipedia
How?
He was shot at the back door of his home; the rancher Darly Alves da Silva was described as the person who ordered the killing and his son Darci Alves Pereira as the shooter. Agência Senado
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Chico Mendes was shot at the back door of his home in Xapuri, Acre, on 22 December 1988. He had opposed ranch expansion and forest clearing for cattle. In 1987 he had lobbied the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) over its financing of the BR-364 highway.

The rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darci Alves Pereira were sentenced to 19 years in prison each. Darly was described as the man who ordered the killing and Darci as the shooter. According to the sources reviewed's English-language report they were convicted in 1990; they escaped from prison in 1993, and accounts of their recapture and release conflict.

The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve was created on 12 March 1990, fifteen months after the killing, covering about 970,570 hectares across four municipalities. An extractive reserve (RESEX) is a protected area where the land stays in state ownership while communities such as rubber tappers keep the right to harvest forest products. Brazil's federal conservation agency, ICMBio, carries Mendes's name. In 2013 Brazil had 59 extractive reserves covering more than 12 million hectares in total.

Later records show pressure on the reserve. In 2019 deforestation in the reserve covered 74.5 square kilometres, about three times the average of the previous five years; five ICMBio officers were supervising the reserve at the time, and cattle were present on 97% of the plots examined. By 2023 pasture covered 11% of the reserve (105,000 hectares), and clearing rose by 30% in 2024.

Mendes was not the first rubber tappers' leader killed in the area. Wilson Pinheiro, a union president, was killed in Brasiléia in 1980 and no one was tried for it. A party official was killed in a land dispute in Xapuri in 2019.

  1. 1980Union president Wilson Pinheiro killed in Brasiléia; no one tried
  2. 1987Mendes lobbies the Inter-American Development Bank over its financing of the BR-364 highway
  3. 1988Chico Mendes shot at his home in Xapuri, Acre (22 December)
  4. 1990Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve created (12 March), about 970,570 ha; Darly Alves da Silva and Darci Alves Pereira reported convicted and sentenced to 19 years
  5. 1993Darly Alves da Silva and his son escape from prison; accounts of recapture and release conflict
  6. 2013Brazil has 59 extractive reserves covering more than 12 million ha
  7. 2019Clearing in the reserve of 74.5 km2, about three times the five-year average; party official killed in a land dispute in Xapuri
  8. 2023Pasture covers 11% of the reserve (105,000 ha)
  9. 2024Clearing in the reserve rises 30%

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Mendes was shot on 22 December 1988 in Xapuri; the rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darci Alves Pereira received 19-year prison sentences.
      Agência Senado
    • The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve was created on 12 March 1990, about 970,570 ha across four municipalities.
    • In 2019, 74.5 km2 was cleared in the reserve, about three times the five-year average; cattle were present on 97% of the plots examined and more than 50,000 head were counted; five ICMBio officers supervised the reserve.
      Mongabay
    • A proposal to allow clearing of 190 km2 (about 2%) was recorded in 2019.
      Mongabay
    • By 2023 pasture covered 105,000 ha, 11% of the reserve; clearing rose 30% in 2024.
    • Wilson Pinheiro was killed in Brasiléia in 1980 and no one was tried; in 2025 the prosecution objected to the state's negligence.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 1990Claimant won
      Killing of Chico Mendes (1988)
      Brazil, court not named in the sources reviewed · Criminal · State prosecution → Darly Alves da Silva and Darci Alves Pereira

      The rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darci Alves Pereira were each sentenced to 19 years in prison; Darly was described as the man who ordered the killing and Darci as the shooter. They escaped from prison in 1993; accounts of their recapture and release conflict. Agência Senado

    2. No defendant left
      Killing of Wilson Pinheiro (1980)
      not on record · Criminal · Not stated → None identified

      The union president was killed in Brasiléia in 1980 and no one was tried. In 2025 the prosecution objected to the state's negligence.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Reserve created after the killing
    About 970,570 ha
    Created 12 March 1990, four municipalities in Acre
    Clearing in the reserve, 2019
    74.5 km2
    About three times the average of the previous five years (Mongabay, 2020)
    Pasture in the reserve, 2023
    11%
    105,000 ha; clearing rose 30% in 2024

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    Court ruling existsDeaths reported

    Record

    • Disputed Accounts of the recapture and release of Darly Alves da Silva and Darci Alves Pereira after their 1993 escape conflict.
    • Disputed Sources differ on what happened to the IDB loan for the BR-364 highway: reported as suspended or renegotiated.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that rubber tappers stopped felling in 1976 by standing in front of trees (the 'empate' method), with about 60 people over three days in Brasiléia.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a report known only mentions the removal of 400 head of illegal cattle from the reserve.
    • Not measured No independent ecological evaluation of the reserve is in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    The reserve was created fifteen months after the killing, on 12 March 1990. In 2019 clearing in the reserve was about three times the previous five-year average, and by 2023 pasture covered 11% of it.

    Who paid?

    Mendes, the union president Wilson Pinheiro and a party official killed in a land dispute in Xapuri in 2019. the sources reviewed also records an economic cost for the rubber tappers: Brazil nut income is seasonal and informal, so families keep cattle as savings and some sell plots illegally to ranchers.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Government and regulators

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

    Institutions

    IDB
    The Inter-American Development Bank.

    Law and courts

    Negligence and gross negligence
    Negligence is a failure to take reasonable care. Gross negligence is a serious, reckless failure; under US oil-spill law a finding of gross negligence raises the maximum penalty.

    Bonds and banking

    Guarantee
    A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.
    Similar cases
    Killings and repression of defenders · Protected area / relocation · Brazil · 2005–2019
    Dorothy Stang killing
    Same type: Killings and repression of defenders, Protected area / relocationSame countryCourt: won by claimant
    Killings and repression of defenders · Protected area / relocation · Brazil · 2011
    José Cláudio and Maria murder
    Same type: Killings and repression of defenders, Protected area / relocationSame countryCourt: won by claimant
    Killings and repression of defenders · Protected area / relocation · Brazil · 2019
    Paulo Paulino Guajajara killing (Brazil)
    Same type: Killings and repression of defenders, Protected area / relocationSame country
    Killings and repression of defenders · Protected area / relocation · Brazil · 2022–2026
    Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips killing (Brazil)
    Same type: Killings and repression of defenders, Protected area / relocationSame country
    Killings and repression of defenders · Protected area / relocation · Republic of Congo · 2010–2025
    African Parks Odzala-Kokoua abuses (Republic of Congo)
    Same type: Killings and repression of defenders, Protected area / relocationCourt: won by claimant
    Killings and repression of defenders · Protected area / relocation · Honduras · 2024–2026
    Juan López killing and Guapinol mine
    Same type: Killings and repression of defenders, Protected area / relocationSame region