Jaqui Hernandez-Martinez, Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) Seminar/Field Trip Summer 2024
A region filled with riches, sinking in the poverty of political minds.
In this week’s blog, I have decided to steer away from sparkling Tapajós river to the depths Santaréms reality. When understanding a new culture, it is often forgotten that beyond the wonders and beauty of the land, we can find mold that had been spreading underneath it all.
Santarém, along with the northern region of Brazil, are often forgotten. In academia, we see the lack of literature offered for states in the northern region of Brazil in comparison to the South. Come to find out that the lack of literature is not the only thing that has been forgotten, but also the people.
Santarém bleeds riches. The city, in other words, is a wealth mine. Surrounded by the sweet Tapajos River and the sedimented Amazon River, Santarém has an incredible opportunity for exportation that is used every day, which in it of its own should be a major economic success. Another thing to note is that Santarém has the LARGEST water reserve in the world, and even then, no one talks about the region. Because the city has so much access to the Amazon forest, the number of resources that are produced and exported from Santarém are innumerable.
If we were to take a step back and look at the surface level of things, this city has wealth even for those who have nothing. The river that surrounds the city can allow people to fish for their dinners. The abundance of fruit trees gives people the ability to get fruit anywhere. All in all, Santarém offers anyone a sustainable life, and we still easily forget to identify the north region of Brazil. In knowing that, perhaps what we should be asking is, why?
It all started with the colonization of the country. Being that the Portuguese settled into the east coast of the country, getting to regions in the north seemed to be an extra step. That the more colonization occurred, the settlement of people began to occur mainly in the south due to its climate similarities with countries in Europe.
In the development of Brazil, political interest began to take an important role, and the concentration of Brazil became the south. Going back to the exportation system, because Santarém has a high production of goods, but lacks overall development, the exportations are sent to the south. With that, most of the wealth that Santarém should have received gets diverted to southern states.
Although the political aspects of the country play a big role, I wanted to touch on the overall perspective that people have of the region. As I previously mentioned in my first blog, the concepts that surround Amazonian cities exceed the reality of it all.
In the colonization of Brazil, cities that surrounded the Amazon were not fully settled into because of the preconception towards indigenous people. Not to mention that Europeans had not been exposed to diseases like malaria.
Years later, the same concepts about the region persist. Regions on the outer banks of the river continue to be forgotten and pushed to the side. These preconceptions and discrimination exist within the Brazilian population itself, it’s hard to think what those that don’t live in Brazil might think.
Maybe one day, the regions flooding with riches be afloat all the preconceptions and politically sinking minds.
For now, I can leave knowing Santarém knowing that I can share a little bit of its story and wealth with others.
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