Aerial photograph showing forensic police officers working on the fuselage of Voepass flight 2283, which crashed in the city of Vinhedo in the interior of São Paulo, leaving 62 dead.
A man dressed as Batman uses the restroom during CCXP, a pop culture festival held in São Paulo.
The biggest tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul
In May 2024, Rio Grande do Sul faced the greatest climate tragedy in its history. Heavy rains caused rivers to overflow and flooded hundreds of cities, leaving millions of people homeless, causing 184 deaths and resulting in an estimated loss of R$ 88.9 billion in production, infrastructure, social, and environmental damage. Amid dramatic rescues, material losses, and the suffering of entire families, the disaster exposed the population’s vulnerability to the climate crisis. Aerial view of downtown Porto Alegre, partially evacuated due to the advancing waters of Lake Guaiba.
A team in a helicopter rescues a resident stranded in his home in the city of Canoas, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.
Children are rescued from a boat in the city of Porto Alegre.
Isolated residents ask for help from a team in a helicopter flying over the city of Canoas, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.
Aerial view of the Grêmio Arena in Porto Alegre, completely flooded. The stadium served as a shelter until it had to be evacuated due to rising waters.
Mother and newborn son are rescued from a water tank improvised as a boat in the city of Porto Alegre.
Un caballo muerto en un parque de atracciones en la ciudad de Eldorado do Sul, en la zona metropolitana de Porto Alegre.
Celine Machado, 33, is rescued along with her mother by a Brazilian Army boat on Lake Guaíba, in Porto Alegre.
Homeless residents wait to be rescued on a road in the city of Eldorado do Sul, in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre.
Residents and displaced animals are transported in the back of a truck to emergency shelters in the city of Canoas, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.
Vive Mill
Located in downtown São Paulo, the last favela in the central region, the Moinho favela is known for its long history of popular occupation and resistance. Traditionally home to low-income workers, the community faces increasing pressure due to gentrification plans, which aim to transform the area into a commercial and tourist space, expelling residents. In response, residents have organized protests and blockades, but they often face violent police operations, marking the community’s routine with arrests, confrontations, and constant fear. Recently, after years of mobilization, the community reached a historic agreement with the federal and state governments, ensuring advances in the protection of the right to housing and the safety of residents. Residents of the Moinho favela block the train line at the entrance to the community with fire in protest against police violence.
A resident watches from the window of his home in the Moinho slum as police officers raid the community.
Residents of the Moinho slum cry as police raid the community.
Residents of the Moinho slum block the entrance to their community with abandoned vehicles in protest against police violence.
Residents of the Moinho slum expel a city official for disagreeing with the terms of the agreement to vacate the community.
Police officers leaving the community during an operation in the Moinho slum.
A resident of the Moinho slum shows injuries sustained during a violent police operation in the community.
A resident of the Moinho slum shows injuries sustained during a violent police operation in the community.
Police officers position themselves on a rooftop with a strategic view to observe movements in the Moinho slum.
Reconquest
The Guarani Mbya people of Jaraguá, located in the northern part of São Paulo, led one of the most emblematic indigenous struggles in the country, facing decades of struggle for the demarcation of their traditional territory. In 1987, the Indigenous Land was approved with only 1.7 hectares, making it the smallest in the country. However, in 2025, after years of resistance, they achieved a significant victory: the signing of a historic agreement that recognized the shared management of the overlapping areas between the Jaraguá Indigenous Land and the Jaraguá State Park, expanding the territory to 532 hectares. This achievement represents a milestone in the struggle to preserve Guarani culture, territory, and way of life in the midst of Brazil’s largest metropolis. A young indigenous warrior of the Guarani ethnic group shouts during a ritual at the prayer house of the Tekoá Pyau Village.
A young indigenous warrior from the Guarani ethnic group is painted in the village of Tekoá Pyau during preparations for a protest seeking the demarcation of their territory.
Indigenous warriors from the Guarani ethnic group wait beside a highway moments before blocking it during a protest demanding the demarcation of their territory.
Indigenous warrior from the Guarani ethnic group with his bow and arrow during a protest demanding the demarcation of his territory, which blocked the highway near the Tekoá Pyau village.
An indigenous member of the Guarani ethnic group during a protest demanding the demarcation of their territory, which blocked the highway near the Tekoá Pyau village.
An indigenous warrior from the Guarani ethnic group, armed with a bow and arrow, runs from bombs thrown by the police during a protest for the demarcation of his territory, which blocked the highway near the Tekoá Pyau Village.
Indigenous leader and activist Txai Suruí of the Suruí ethnic group during a ritual at the prayer house in the village of Tekoá Pyau.
Indigenous people protest on Paulista Avenue in São Paulo against a bill that aims to make it more difficult to demarcate indigenous territories.
Karai Djejupe, warrior and indigenous leader of the Guarani ethnic group, amid pepper spray fired by police during a protest against a bill that aims to make it more difficult to demarcate indigenous territories.
Guarani women embrace each other in celebration of the day when the plaque symbolizing the achievement of the new demarcation of indigenous land, which increased from 1.7 hectares to 532 hectares, was unveiled.
The price of gold
The Munduruku people, who inhabit traditional territories on the banks of the Tapajós River in the state of Pará, have faced decades of invasion by illegal miners exploiting gold in the region. Gold mining brings not only environmental destruction, with deforestation and river degradation, but also mercury contamination, which threatens the health of communities and compromises one of their main food sources: fish and cassava. Studies conducted by Fiocruz reveal that 100% of the indigenous people in the Munduruku villages are contaminated with mercury, with about 60% having levels above the safe limit established by the WHO. Indigenous teachers already teach children about the impacts of mining and contamination on their lives, integrating traditional and scientific knowledge to strengthen the cultural and environmental resistance of the community. A child from the Munduruku ethnic group bathes on the banks of the Tapajós River in the village of Kaba Biorebu, Munduruku indigenous territory, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region.
Indigenous women process cassava in the village of Kaba Biorebu, in the Munduruku indigenous territory, on the banks of the Tapajós River, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region. Cassava is one of the main sources of food and economic sustenance for the village.
Aerial photograph of the Tapajós River with a general view of the village of Kaba Biorebu, Munduruku indigenous territory, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region.
Children in the village of Kaba Biorebu, Munduruku indigenous territory, on the banks of the Tapajós River, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region.
Aerial photograph of a Munduruku father and son fishing on the Tapajós River, with a general view of the village of Kaba Biorebu, Munduruku indigenous territory, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region.
A woman rests after lunch in the village of Kaba Biorebu, in the Munduruku indigenous territory, on the banks of the Tapajós River, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region.
A teacher gives a lesson on the impacts of mining and mercury contamination to indigenous children in the village of Kaba Biorebu, in the Munduruku indigenous territory, on the banks of the Tapajós River, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region.
Aerial photograph of a gold mine on the banks of the Trans-Amazonian Highway, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as the center of illegal gold mining in the region.
A plane takes off from a clandestine runway used to transport illegally mined gold, on the edge of the Trans-Amazonian Highway, near the city of Jacareacanga, which serves as a hub for illegal gold mining in the region.
Guajará-Mirim in flames
Guajará-Mirim State Park, one of the largest conservation areas in Rondônia, is located between the Igarapé Lage Indigenous Territory, inhabited by the Karipuna people, and the Rio Ouro Preto Indigenous Territory, inhabited by the Uru Eu Wau Wau people. The region is facing an unprecedented environmental crisis. Since July 2024, arson attacks have devastated 33% of the park’s vegetation, equivalent to 73,000 soccer fields or five times the area of the urban zone of Porto Velho, the state capital. The flames, fueled by land grabbing, illegal logging, and invasions, compromise biodiversity and air quality, affecting the health of local populations and neighboring indigenous communities. In response, operations such as “Temporã” and “AR Puro” mobilized more than 500 security agents, including military and federal police and members of Ibama, to fight the fires and identify those responsible. Despite these efforts, the initial response was considered insufficient, aggravating the situation. Forest area burned illegally along the banks of a highway in the Porto Alegre region.
A forest ranger patrols near a log bearing the inscription “Proibido IBAMA” (IBAMA is Brazil’s environmental protection agency) in an area of illegally burned native forest in Guajará-Mirim State Park.
Irregularly burned forest area along the margins of a highway in the Porto Alegre region.
Firefighters rest after walking miles of trails to survey areas affected by fire in Guajará-Mirim State Park.
A burned area exposing the trails used by invaders for the illegal burning of native forest in Guajará-Mirim State Park. The park faces conflicts due to invasions and illegal exploitation of natural resources, as well as territorial disputes with indigenous peoples.
Owl on a log in an illegally burned area of native forest in Guajará-Mirim State Park.
Police conduct intensive inspections in the Guajará-Mirim State Park region to combat illegal burning.
A man is arrested with fuel and a lighter inside Guajará-Mirim State Park during a night patrol in the region.
Aerial photograph showing the ‘skeleton’ of a tree among several others that have been burned in a protected area of native forest in Guajará-Mirim State Park.
Between 2023 and 2025, Brazil faced environmental, social, and cultural crises that exposed the vulnerability of its populations. In Rio Grande do Sul, intense rains caused the greatest climatic tragedy in the state’s history: rivers overflowed, millions were left homeless, 184 people died, and the damages reached R$ 88.9 billion, revealing the urgency of measures in the face of climate change.
In the city of São Paulo, the Guarani Mbya people of Jaraguá achieved a historic milestone in their struggle for territory in 2025: the shared management of overlapping areas with the Jaraguá State Park expanded the indigenous land from 1.7 hectares to 532 hectares, ensuring cultural and environmental preservation. Also in the capital, the Moinho favela, the last favela in the center, resisted decades of pressure for gentrification, facing police violence and eviction threats. After intense mobilization, the community made progress in protecting the right to housing and local security.
In Pará, the Munduruku people suffer from the invasion of illegal miners who degrade the Tapajós River, pollute the environment with mercury, and compromise the food and health of the villages. Studies indicate that 100% of the indigenous people are contaminated, integrating traditional and scientific knowledge to resist and raise awareness among the new generations.
In Rondônia, the Guajará-Mirim State Park has faced, since July 2024, criminal fires that devastated 33% of the vegetation, threatening the biodiversity and the health of the Karipuna and Uru Eu Wau Wau indigenous communities. Combat operations mobilized more than 500 agents, but the initial insufficient response highlighted weaknesses in environmental protection.
