By Melissa Reynolds

When Chico Mendes was murdered on December 22, 1988, he was many things: a husband, a father, a union leader, a rubber tapper and an environmental activist, as well as the voice for sustainable agriculture in Brazil and around the world.

Born Francisco Alves Mendes Filho in Xapuri, Brazil on December 15, 1944, Mendes grew up in a family of rubber tappers, or seringueiros as they are known in Brazil. As a rubber tapper, he would use a harmless process of extracting sap from rubber trees to be used in products such as car tires or Tupperware. Mendes had followed in his father's footsteps in a system of sustainable agriculture.

Mendes was vehemently opposed to the poor conditions that the rubber tappers were subjected to by the rubber barons. Mendes educated himself on what was happening and organized plantation workers into labour unions. He was also opposed to that which was destroying his beloved forests. He worked towards his goal of protecting the Amazon by advocating a return to sustainable farming and urging other Brazilians to lobby corporations that exploited the land and resources. Mendes also worked to defend his forests through political avenues by appealing to both the Interior Ministry and the citizens.

Mendes' first actions as a burgeoning activist were through a series of letters to the Brazilian president detailing the terrible working conditions the tappers faced. He outlined the poor conditions, the inflated prices that kept the workers in debt and the lack of education they were offered. Mendes was able to bring an end to the rent that rubber tappers had to pay on the trails leading through the rubber trees.

In the 1970's and 1980's when the latex industry declined, it was cattle ranchers who then took over the land, clearing it for their own uses, cutting and burning rainforest and displacing local residents. It was then that Mendes became involved in educating local people. In the 1970's, he moved to Xapuri where he worked on organizing unions and won a seat on city council.

In 1981, Chico Mendes became president of the rural workers' union in Xapuri, helping rubber workers to form their own businesses. Through the following years, he continued to fight for the workers as well as provide them with help through seminars and meetings.

In 1987, Mendes traveled to the United States where he spoke in Miami and Washington DC. He explained the effects of cattle ranching on the Amazon. He was awarded the Global 500 award by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), a tribute to success in global environmental action. He was also given the Protection of the Environment medal.

Mendes encountered a lot of opposition along his path from industrialists and those profiting from tearing down the Amazon, but nothing, whether it was jail time, fines or threats, could stop his mission.

One of his opponents, Darly Alves da Silva, ordered Mendes killed, and on December 22,1988, he was assassinated by a gunshot at his home. Following a government investigation, da Silva, his son and their ranch hand were arrested for the murder.

What followed Mendes' death turned his life's work into something even bigger. His cause received more and more attention and he became the face of the fight to save the Amazon. Money and support from all over the world came to Mendes' network and many steps have been taken since to keep his work alive. More than 30 union, church, human rights, political and environmental organizations banded together to form what is today the Chico Mendes Committee (www.chicomendes.org).

In 1989, Brazil passed laws to protect the forest and made plans to replant 2.5 million acres of forest. Also created was the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, covering over 2.4 million acres, that serves as a home and refuge to 3,000 trappers and farmers.