Rafael Vilela

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rafaelvilela.cc

Amazon Undone Series, on Assignment for The Washington Post

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Clients: National Geographic, The Washington Post The Guardian

Aerial view of the city of S&am...cted to be muddy due to mining.

1 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

Aerial view of the city of São Felix do Xingu, in southern Pará state. The town is located between the Xingu River (right) and the Fresco River (left), which is suspected to be muddy due to mining.

An illegal gas station which wa...nd in southern Pará.

2 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

An illegal gas station which was closed during an Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) operation in 2021 in the Renascer village, located in the Apyterewa indigenous land in southern Pará.

(1) The mayor of Sã...the Apyterewa indigenous land.

3 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

(1) The mayor of São Felix do Xingu, João Cleber de Souza Torres, 61, grants an interview to the Washington Post.

(2) A fence installed by illegal white settlers inside the Apyterewa indigenous land.

Relatives of environmental acti... identities cannot be revealed.

4 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

Relatives of environmental activist Ze do Lago, murdered in January 2022, pose for a portrait after an interview with the Washington Post. For security reasons their identities cannot be revealed.

Relatives of environmental acti... identities cannot be revealed.

5 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

Relatives of environmental activist Ze do Lago, murdered in January 2022, show videos about Ze do Lago's life and work. For security reasons their identities cannot be revealed.

Aerial view of the Parakan&...ndigenous invaders was on fire.

6 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

Aerial view of the Parakanã Paredão village on the banks of the São Sebastião river and inside the Apyterewa indigenous land, in southern Pará. During the overflight a part of the indigenous land illegally occupied by non-indigenous invaders was on fire.

Awapinima Parakanã, ...ver by non-indigenous invaders.

7 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

Awapinima Parakanã, Chief of the Parakanã Paredão Village, looks at a piece of once-forested Apyterewa indigenous land now taken over by non-indigenous invaders.

Small trade shop on the dirt ro...lde;o and the Renascer village.

8 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

Small trade shop on the dirt road between the Parakanã village Paredão and the Renascer village.

A flock of vultures circles a d...thern state of Pará.

9 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

A flock of vultures circles a dead cow carcass on a farm on the road to the Apyterewa Indigenous Land in the southern state of Pará.

WP A1 Front Cover August 1, 2022

10 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

WP A1 Front Cover
August 1, 2022

WP Double inside pages  August 1, 2022

11 of 11 © 2025 Rafael Vilela

WP Double inside pages
August 1, 2022

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Amazon Undone Series, on Assignment for The Washington Post

rafael vilela

Aug 16, 2022

Location: São Felix do Xingu

Summary

'Destroy the rainforest, get elected' - my latest collaboration for The Washington Post is the cover of last Sunday’s paper.

'Destroy the rainforest, get elected' - my latest collaboration for The Washington Post is the cover of last Sunday’s paper. This is the result of a grueling journey in the Amazon alongside with WP Brazil’s correspondent Terrence Mccoy, who revealed with unprecedented data that some 1,200 people cited for environmental wrongdoing have won elected office in the Amazon in the last 20 years; and the story of the city of Sao Felix do Xingu, in Brazil's Pará State, that has been marked by extraordinary deforestarion, violence and territorial disputes. Editing by Chloe Coleman, journalistic support from Cecilia do Lago and technical support from Monster Cameras and Drone Lab Brasil. #justicefordomandbruno

Link for full article:

He’s been called a deforester and killer. Now he’s called mayor.
In the Amazon, there's little political cost to destroying the rainforest.
Washingtonpost.com

5,430

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