TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
IN THE WAKE OF ECOCIDE:
RESISTANCE AND
DOCUMENTATION
IN BRAZIL'S "GREEN"
TRANSITION
Amanda Rossini Ma ins
Con ex
La in Ame ica’s social and en i onmen al eali ies ha e been p o oundly
shaped by colonial and ex ac i e egimes ha es ablished endu ing
s uc u es o ecological and social iolence. These dynamics con inue o
mani es h ough s a e policies and de elopmen agendas. In B azil, he
mili a y dic a o ship (1964–1985) was ma ked no only by unadd essed
sys emic human igh s iola ions bu also by ecocidal de elopmen
p ojec s in he Amazon. Indigenous peoples and local communi ies ha e
long documen ed hese in e wined his o ies o iolence, which oday
eeme ge unde he guise o “g een” ene gy ini ia i es. Thei
documen a ion call o inno a i e o ms o ecogni ion, accoun abili y,
and socio-en i onmen al jus ice.
My S a ing Poin
In o med by mo e- han-human igh s, his esea ch ecognizes he
absence o ansi ional jus ice (TJ) p ocesses in B azil o he
con inuous socio-en i onmen al ha ms oo ed in coloniali y. These
include colonial ex ac i ism, he au ho i a ian de elopmen alism o
he mili a y dic a o ship, and he ongoing ep oduc ion o socio-
ecological injus ices. By acing hese con inui ies, he p ojec
explo es how mechanisms o TJ can also o e concep ual and
p ac ical ools o con on he legacies o socio-ecological ha m. The
aim is o expand he meaning o jus ice in ene gy ansi ions by linking
his o ical accoun abili y wi h cu en s uggles o clima e jus ice.
Resea ch Ques ion
How can his o ical and con empo a y
documen a ion o socio-ecological ha ms suppo
ansi ional jus ice mechanisms in add essing he
legacies o ex ac i ism and in o ming he ene gy
ansi ion in B azil?
This case con ibu es o he GROUNDOC p ojec ’s goal o
eimagining TJ p ocesses om he g ound up in
apa adigma ic se ings. In B azil, whe e o mal TJ
mechanisms add essing socio-en i onmen al ha ms a e
la gely absen , his case expands he scope o TJ beyond
human-cen e ed iolence, explici ly add essing coloniali y
and engaging wi h clima e jus ice goals ha cu en ly lack
amewo ks o a jus ene gy ansi ion.
GROUNDOC P ojec
pho o c edi s: “Pa e Belo Mon e” by In e na ional Ri e s, CC
BY-NC-SA 2.0; “Signs Denouncing Belo Mon e ill he ma ch” by
In e na ional Ri e s, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
