Journalism

Our team of journalists investigate human rights violations and threats to the environment. By following the supply chains of large economic sectors, Repórter Brasil links on the ground violations with major national and international brands. Our stories and videos can be republished, as long as the content is not edited, under Creative Commons license.

Between health and profit

Investigations of Repórter Brasil about the pharmaceutical industry reveal strategies to maximize profits and secure millionaire contracts with the federal government

JBS, Marfrig and Frigol buy cattle from deforesters

New survey by Repórter Brasil reveals cases of farmers fined for environmental crimes that link deforestation and burning to global meatpacking companies

Families face risk of evictions in Pará

Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara – a company led by the banker who owns the Opportunity group – was granted an injunction to repossess a farm occupied in 2008 by 212 families in Eldorado dos Carajás

Slave labor

Brazilian labor inspectors found six employees in Minas Gerais state working in conditions analogous to slavery in farm certified by both Starbucks and Nestlé-controlled brand Nespresso

Bolsonarista crusade

Lumberjack and politician bolsonarista, Silvério Fernandes, announces an accusatory campaign against Father Amaro, successor of the missionary Dorothy Stang, in Anapu (Pará)

Lives in Danger

Workers rescued from slave labor in Pará, Brazil, unveil the dangers of the illegal logging trade: fatal accidents, animal attacks and threats from employers

Slave labor at Starbucks-certified coffee plantation

Raid rescues 18 workers from Minas Gerais farm that held several good practice seals. Starbucks denies having bought beans there, though its certifier approved the farm

Major Brands Linked to Slave Labor

Timber linked to slave labor in Brazil may have reached renovation projects for New York’s Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park. Investigation revealed that U.S.-based companies bought the timber

‘Transparency List of Slave Labor’

Using the Access to Information Act, Repórter Brasil and InPACTO disclose the list, with 420 names of those caught using that type of labor. The names used to remain in the ‘black list’ for at least two years

Good practice: slavery

The Rainforest Alliance seal, one of the most important certifications, was awarded to farms belonging to Cutrale, a company caught using slave labor in 2013. The certifier that challenged the process was replaced.

Belo Monte

While it wastes trees rotting on building sites, the plant purchases irregular wood heating up the illegal market. The burning of trees and animal deaths is only the first stage of a vicious cycle

Proposed Amazon dam attracts illegal loggers

Plans for the São Luiz do Tapajós dam in Pará, Brazil, have led to increased illegal squatting and illicit timber harvesting. Homestead farmers fear for their future

Munduruku fighting dams

A large indigenous group with a strong warrior tradition is confronting the Brazilian government to block hydroelectric dams. Whether in Pará, Paris or Brasília, they have demonstrated great skill at political engagement

Tapajós dams

Experts question the validity of a Brazilian Environmental Impact Study supporting a mega-dam planned at the heart of the Amazon. Dams may bring fish kills, species loss and mercury contamination

Tapajós dam puts species at risk

Eight new mammal species were found at the Sao Luiz do Tapajós dam building site, which threatens to become Brazil’s most controversial hydro project ever

The life of cows turned into meat at JBS

Cattle ranches that supply JBS contradict the company’s advertising and run counter to the recommendations of the Ministry of Agriculture. Practices violate the animal-welfare policies established by JBS itself

Tax exemptions on pesticides in Brazil

Companies that manufacture and sell pesticides in Brazil are protected by a package of benefits that, counting just tax exemptions and reductions, add up to nearly R$10 billion (US$ 2.2 billion) every year

Pesticides found in water of Brazilian cities

São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other 1,300 cities found pesticides in the water supply. Data from the Health Ministry shows that Brazilian drinking water is contaminated with ingredients associated with chronic diseases

Supermarkets and the slave labor

Carrefour, Pão de Açúcar and another major supermarket chain bought products from meatpackers whose suppliers include ranchers charged with slave labor offencers

JBS and Amazon-deforesting companies

Punished for buying livestock from deforested areas in 2017, the company still sources livestock from Amazon-deforesting companies. In the Amazon, an area equivalent to Brasilia is cleared annually to be converted into pasture

‘Ruralist’ police

Burned houses and victims hit by rubber bullets reveal violent police action in Mato Grosso do Sul. Operations favor ranchers and are coordinated with security companies

Bolsonaro is harmful to the environment

Two-thirds of federal deputies seeking re-election to Brazil’s Congress this October supported bills harmful to the environment, indigenous peoples, and rural workers

The 21st Century Settlers

Video tells the story of the migrants attracted to the Amazon with false promises. Without an alternative,they make a living by cutting down trees. Often, in networks that exploit slave labor

Meat industry encroaches on Paraguayan Chaco

Brazilian investors are banking on this sensitive region, where cattle farming is growing at a pace as fast as illegal deforestation and reports of indigenous slave labor

The Amazon rots away

The Teles Pires power plant violated its environmental plan and flooded the dam reservoir without clearing vegetation. The resulting decomposition will release large amounts of methane

The crooked paths of Suape

Residents of traditional communities in Pernambuco denounce the government-run industrial complex for human rights violations, such as threats and evictions; accusations reach the UN

100 years of servitude

In the state of Amazonas, extractivists work to pay off debts to their bosses. For three generations the cycle has bound families to a life of cutting piassava, the palm fibers used to make brooms

Acre against Chico Mendes

Traditional communities are excluded by the green economy of the Viana brothers. The rubber tapper leader defended the extractivist lifestyle as the best way to protect nature

Rural War

Escalation of rural violence foretells climate of war in 2017. Brazil is the champion in deaths of leaders in the field. We investigate the stories behind the numbers.

Massacre in Pará

Witness claims that rancher had paid police officers in the past to remove landless people from another farm of her. Evidence suggests that the police were working alongside private security guards

There is no Regulation

Leading expert on modern-day slavery Kevin Bales talks about the lack of tools available to stop the flow of money from consumers to networks facilitating human rights abuse and environmental destruction

Land speculators profit of Amazon dams

Arlindo de Oliveira makes a living by infiltrating Amazon Basin communities, buying up riverside land, then getting compensated when a new dam is built. This time, he has his eye set on the São Luiz do Tapajós
Videos and documentaries

GIG - The Uberization of Work

APP-based services and digital platforms grow worldwide. But the advance of the so-called “gig economy”, also known as “uberization”, has promoted debates on precariousness and intensification of work

Under death threat

Rural workers that won’t abandon their homes are threatened by loggers and farmers. Repórter Brasil compiled 10 testimonies from people that live under the constant threat of death

Ka'apor seek to break with the rest of society

The indigenous people of Maranão, one of the poorest regions of the country, got tired of waiting for help and decided to break with the society of Karaís, as non-indigenous call it

Massacre in Pará: survivors describe the killings

Survivors describe what happened during the Pau D´arco massacre, where 10 landless people were killed by the police during an operation in the Santa Lucia farm

Wood and Slavery

We followed the inspection of the Public Department of Labor that led to the rescue of men working in the timber sector in the west part of the state of Pará, Brazil

The ashes of Belo Monte

Repórter Brasil witnessed Belo Monte dam illegally burning Amazonian trees in the Xingu river, state of Pará. Our investigation also found dead animals on the site

Edge of a cliff

Brazil is the world’s largest poultry and tobacco exporter. Over 360 poultry farmers and tobacco growers were working over suspicious contracts in the southern os the country

To the bone

The documentary film is a plunge in the universe of workers at Brazil’s meat companies: accidents, diseases, and other problems resulting from working at plants where fowl, swine, and bovines are slaughtered

Jaci, sevens sins of an Amazonian work

During four years, this documentary collected stories on a small town in the Amazon that was radically changed since the beginning of a huge hydroeletric plant nearby

Do not breathe - Contains Asbestos

“Do Not Breathe” investigates how the asbestos industry tries to spin the message that the type of minerals used in the billion-dollar roofing market, called “chrysotile”, isn’t all that bad
Research

Brewing up a sustainable coffee supply chain

The social responsibility of coffee roasters and private label coffee in Finland. Human rights violations such as child labour continue to be directly associated with coffee cultivation

Monitor #2

Lack of a formal contracts, excessive working hours and unhealthy conditions are just some of the problems of Brazil’s poultry industry, the second largest poultry producer in the world

Monitor #1

Globalization and concentration in Brazil’s agri-food system. The emergence of large business groups is one of the most visible results of the changes undergone by Brazil’s food industry in the last two decades

From moral responsibility to legal liability?

Modern day slavery conditions in the global garment supply chain and the need to strengthen regulatory frameworks: The case of Inditex-Zara in Brazil and the conditions ‘analogous to slavery’

Brazil, new manufacturing hotspot?

In recent years many multinational companies in the electronics and electrical industry have found their way to Brazil. But workers face poor labor conditions

Brazil of Biofuels (2009)

A study on the use of animal fat to produce biodiesel, dedicating special attention to two crops that have not been covered: sunflower and rapeseed. Will the advancement of soybean not destroy the Cerrado and Amazon?

Brazil of Biofuels (2009)

Under the general aim of annually monitoring the effects of crops used to produce bioenergy, this is our first updating report concerning soybean and castor bean

 

Brazil of Biofuels (2009)

The impacts caused by the expansion of the sugar-alcohol industry in Brazil involve overexploitation of workers, disrespect for communities, traditional populations, and indigenous peoples, and environmental degradation

 

Brazil of Biofuels (2008)

Research on sugarcane, an expanding crop facing the ethanol global boom, brings an alert: one hand, high investments and technology development; on the other, environmental problems and laboural superexploitation

 

Brazil of Biofuels (2008)

Palms, Cotton, Corn and Jatropha. The report shows analysis, case studies and reports on the socio-economic, environmental, land related and labour related impacts

 

Brazil of Biofuels (2008)

The effects of the cultures used in the production of biofuel on the environment and on men and women that work in the crops. This report analyse soy and castor bean