Long a region seemingly immune to modernization and relegated to governmental neglect, the Brazilian Amazon has nonetheless frequently been the theme of political rhetoric. While the area has stagnated, Brazilians have continually referred to it as the “Land of Promise.” Now, however, it appears that Amazonia is finally to become a major government beneficiary.
An area comprising 42 percent of Brazil's territory but only about three percent of its population, a land often inaccurately portrayed as both a “Green Hell” and a “Green Paradise,” the Amazon recently has been selected by President Garrastazu Médici as the site of a major development effort. Its colonization and economic development have been assigned priority status within the president's “Plan for National Integration.”