perhaps, Latin American diplomats and intellectuals have stood at the forefront of
some renowned doctrines in international law, such as the Calvo and Drago
doctrines.
109
Yet, the greatest challenges for Brazil’s interests offshore have just emerged,
namely upon the discovery of the massive hydrocarbons reserves of the pre-salt
layer, off the Brazilian South-East coast. Despite the existence of such mineral and
ecological riches; the geopolitical relevance of the ocean for the Brazilian economy;
and the fact that more than 80% of the Brazilian population live near the coast,
ocean-related matters are still relatively unknown to large portions of the Brazilian
population. According to a comprehensive report by the Brazilian Excellence Cluster for the Seas (CEMBRA), while 73% of the Brazilians who participated in the
study attributed large relevance to the sea, they perceived the sea almost exclusively
as a source of food and leisure. In addition, UNCLOS was known to only 22% of the
Brazilian population and, concerningly, only 8% of the population was aware that
the territorial sea stretches up to 12 nm from the baselines.
110 Compared to oceans,
forests—in particular the Amazon—seem to enjoy greater importance, awareness
and consciousness among Brazilians.
The lack of a “maritime mentality” can be explained in terms of the dichotomy
between maritimity—or maritime dimension—and continentality¸ i.e. the focus of a
certain population on the role played by the seas or the mainland on their well-being.
Paradoxically, while the Brazilian delegation negotiated UNCLOS, Brazilian military generals grappled with the issue of terrestrial sovereignty in the farthest corners
of the country. Stimulating the economic development of Brazil’s inland and
upholding national sovereignty over land boundaries and natural resources were
key strategies of different governments in Brazil during the second half of the last
century. The construction of Brasília in 1960, by President Juscelino Kubitshek, and
the “March to the West” of the 1970s and 1980s stimulated by the military regimes
aimed at asserting Brazilian populational presence over the land territory, especially
those areas with least demographic density around the Amazon forest.
111 Those
efforts can be said to have aroused a certain continentality among Brazilians, even
those who live at the littoral.
The monstrous challenges facing the management of the Amazon forest remain,
especially in light of the recent renewal of alarming deforestation rates within the
109 For more on both doctrines, see Hershey (1907), p. 27.
110 CEMBRA (2012), p. 466.
111 Such policies were not uncontroversial, but it can be said that they brought more benefits than
evils to the country’s overall economic, social and political situation. If, on the one hand, they may
have generated negative outcomes, particularly the farming pressure towards the Amazon forest that
claimed record levels of deforestation during the late 1980s and 1990s, on the other, he marches
fulfilled the goal of occupying larger portions of the mainland, prompted the birth of one of the most
competitive and efficient agricultural sectors of the world, and dispelled fears of the “internationalization” of the Amazon forest and foreign military interventions in the region. For a resounding
critique against the calls for “internationalizing” the Amazon forest, see generally Buarque (2004).
9.2 The Brazilian Extended Continental Shelf: A Larger Blue Amazon
277
some renowned doctrines in international law, such as the Calvo and Drago
doctrines.
109
Yet, the greatest challenges for Brazil’s interests offshore have just emerged,
namely upon the discovery of the massive hydrocarbons reserves of the pre-salt
layer, off the Brazilian South-East coast. Despite the existence of such mineral and
ecological riches; the geopolitical relevance of the ocean for the Brazilian economy;
and the fact that more than 80% of the Brazilian population live near the coast,
ocean-related matters are still relatively unknown to large portions of the Brazilian
population. According to a comprehensive report by the Brazilian Excellence Cluster for the Seas (CEMBRA), while 73% of the Brazilians who participated in the
study attributed large relevance to the sea, they perceived the sea almost exclusively
as a source of food and leisure. In addition, UNCLOS was known to only 22% of the
Brazilian population and, concerningly, only 8% of the population was aware that
the territorial sea stretches up to 12 nm from the baselines.
110 Compared to oceans,
forests—in particular the Amazon—seem to enjoy greater importance, awareness
and consciousness among Brazilians.
The lack of a “maritime mentality” can be explained in terms of the dichotomy
between maritimity—or maritime dimension—and continentality¸ i.e. the focus of a
certain population on the role played by the seas or the mainland on their well-being.
Paradoxically, while the Brazilian delegation negotiated UNCLOS, Brazilian military generals grappled with the issue of terrestrial sovereignty in the farthest corners
of the country. Stimulating the economic development of Brazil’s inland and
upholding national sovereignty over land boundaries and natural resources were
key strategies of different governments in Brazil during the second half of the last
century. The construction of Brasília in 1960, by President Juscelino Kubitshek, and
the “March to the West” of the 1970s and 1980s stimulated by the military regimes
aimed at asserting Brazilian populational presence over the land territory, especially
those areas with least demographic density around the Amazon forest.
111 Those
efforts can be said to have aroused a certain continentality among Brazilians, even
those who live at the littoral.
The monstrous challenges facing the management of the Amazon forest remain,
especially in light of the recent renewal of alarming deforestation rates within the
109 For more on both doctrines, see Hershey (1907), p. 27.
110 CEMBRA (2012), p. 466.
111 Such policies were not uncontroversial, but it can be said that they brought more benefits than
evils to the country’s overall economic, social and political situation. If, on the one hand, they may
have generated negative outcomes, particularly the farming pressure towards the Amazon forest that
claimed record levels of deforestation during the late 1980s and 1990s, on the other, he marches
fulfilled the goal of occupying larger portions of the mainland, prompted the birth of one of the most
competitive and efficient agricultural sectors of the world, and dispelled fears of the “internationalization” of the Amazon forest and foreign military interventions in the region. For a resounding
critique against the calls for “internationalizing” the Amazon forest, see generally Buarque (2004).
9.2 The Brazilian Extended Continental Shelf: A Larger Blue Amazon
277