Brazil highway auction fuels export hopes but Indigenous concerns

Proponents say auction of stretch of BR-163 will boost grain exports, but Indigenous people fear harmful environmental effects.

Sao Paulo, Brazil – A recent auction of a stretch of Brazil’s so-called “Soy Highway” – along which millions of tonnes of grains are transported annually – has spurred hopes that the country’s booming soy exports will get another welcome boost. But the July 8 auction on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange that saw private consortium Via Brasil win the bid to administer a 1,009km (626-mile) tract of the BR-163 highway has also sparked concern among local Indigenous groups. Critics say the highway concession doesn’t adequately account for the costs of mitigating environmental impacts and constitutional commitments to Indigenous rights in the South American nation.