Palm Oil Expansion and Land Rights Conflicts in Pará, Brazil

Quilombola families in Pará, northern Brazil, have endured displacement from loggers, ranchers, and miners. The palm oil industry, which produces biofuels and supplies global customers, has since laid claim to larger tracts of traditional territory. Leaders who attempted to speak out against toxic industrial waste or for their land rights have reportedly been jailed or killed.

Palm oil companies, which are subsidized by the federal government, are expanding their presence over traditional quilombola land. Many fear that a victory for Flávio Bolsonaro could make securing formal recognition of their land rights impossible.