BRASIL: Amazon Activist Ribeiro da Silva And Wife Slain In Nova Ipixuna, Para.

GUARDIAN / T. Phillips

    Amazon environmental activist José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva received threats...but dismissed them.
    Now...6 months after predicting his own murder...he and his wife Maria do Espírito Santo were ambushed near their home in Nova Ipixuna in Pará.
   "He was convinced he would be killed one day," a prominent activist said...adding that da Silva was "very active" fighting illegal forest burning and logging.
    President Dilma Rousseff has reportedly asked staffer Gilberto Carvalho to support the murder investigation.
    "We now have another Chico Mendes," said another activist.

Profile: Marina Silva Shakes-up Brasil's Politics.

NYTIMES.COM.
Last week Marina Silva shook up Brasilian politics by exiting Lula's Workers Party to join the Green Party, likely to be its candidate in next year’s presidential election.
The woman who overcame extreme poverty and illness to become a political success could be a surprize replacement for Lula, also of humble origins.