Marina Silva spent her childhood in the Amazon jungle tapping rubber to augment her family’s meager income. Illness forced her to the city for medical treatment at the age of 16. Illiterate when she arrived, she took night classes, earned a university degree and met Chico Mendes, later a celebrated advocate for rainforest conservation.

The two joined forces in the 1980s to promote social well-being through the responsible use of the Amazon’s resources. They pressed officials to create “extractive reserves,” where economic activity must be consistent with forest protection.

Gunmen murdered Mendes a decade ago. Silva carried on. Her efforts helped establish over 4.9 million acres (two million hectares) of extractive reserves in the Amazon. In 1994, she became the first rubber tapper elected to the national Senate, on the ticket of the leftist Workers Party (PT). Representing the state of Acre, she is regarded as a leading environmental voice in Congress. [Log in to read more]

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