Deadliest Roads | Brazil: The Law of the Jungle | Free Documentary

[Applause] [Music] hey [Music] is [Music] [Music] this old service station is the starting point for the wild men of the trans-amazonian highway say hi to teo all right then bye [Music] they're known locally as the human bombs nato and maura are two of the band of fearless brothers we're pumping 20 000 liters of diesel to take to the depths of the jungle now we'll not stop until we reach our destination surprisingly maro makes only a cursory inspection of his truck before departing he says there's little risk his life is in the hands of the almighty arriving in one piece however is considered an achievement the road is bad it's very difficult my job is to deliver fuel to the gold diggers now it's a quagmire the road is really terrible mauro has two days to get there after that each hour he's late will be deducted from his salary it's a matter of pedal to the metal brazil is 13 times the size of texas among some of these immense virgin territories illegal gold diggers have built illegal roads and villages such as sepurizao which is mauro's destination [Music] the village sprung up out of nothing six years ago and is on no map and nor are most of the roads that lead there these clandestine routes are the death of the amazon forest they're exploited by thousands of poor people drawn by the prospect of finding gold and especially ranchers who want to expand their farms each year they destroy quite illegally tens of thousands of hectares of forest indians who live in the jungles are simply driven out a devastating rush is underway [Music] the region crossed by marrow is a series of hills awash with water forming a giant ice rink any poorly time breaking in the tanker can spin out of control [Music] in december a driver who didn't know the road was going downhill too quickly and the curve caught in by surprise and he overturned in the middle of the road nobody ventures out alone on these roads mauro has a rendezvous with four other wild men to form a convoy [Applause] can you believe it juan says he'll be forced to tell me here we go everyone drives together so we can help each other [Music] through the hills one driver guides the others along the tracks already plowed up by other trucks thereby reducing the risk of sliding sideways off the road [Applause] narrow tries to do his own thing but he's soon put into his place [Music] [Music] he surfs downhill the technique that not all drivers are able to perform and a little later one of them ends up in the ditch [Music] i didn't take the right tracks and that immediately took me over to the side uh they'll soon turn me out all right this should do [Music] but the 25 ton tanker will give them a hard time [Music] [Applause] it takes one hour to cover 20 meters [Music] [Music] now we have to speed things along because if it rains we'll be stuck like nato most drivers can't stand the snaking mud path that often keeps them from their families for weeks at a time winter's always the worst time trucks get busted we overturn when i stock up with biscuits and apples to make sure i won't go hungry because it has taken us two months to make the round trip in the past fortunately for the drivers when the track is virtually impassable there is no deduction from wages the heavyweights are not the only ones to venture on to this track gold diggers and farmers seeking new land throng here in their hundreds they all hope to make their fortunes some like george take the opportunity to do some business [Music] he's fortunate in having a four wheel drive so he improvises as a taxi driver given the risks he charges three times the usual rates [Music] come on you can move ahead come on [Music] are enough to mark out one's territory the farmers are the first to grab the land [Applause] the richer ones even pay for road maintenance always in search of pastures they pave the way for their huge herds they drive thousands of cows ever deeper into the jungle [Music] head of cattle [Music] stuck behind the herd mauro and his convoy lose a lot of time a delay they'll need to make up by driving at night just three years ago all this was a majestic forest [Music] yet i'm waiting for 1 500 bulls the farm is 130 hectares and if you count the forest that we will clear it will be five to six hundred acres of pasture land [Music] a cowboy [Music] his boss gave him the horse the house a pair of boots and even comprehensive insurance if an animal breaks my leg or hurts one of my children the boss is responsible for the insurance call him and he sends a car or a plane to get us out of here but my salary goes down as i recover though how much do you make in fact the equivalent of 570 euros a month itamar will set up a feast for his men by picking out one of the bulls [Music] the vaqueros stuns the beast by strangling it with his lasso the bull struggles probably aware that its life is at an end and the lack of air causes it to collapse [Music] then with a deft flick of the knife itamar removes the animal's male attributes [Music] [Applause] grill testicles are a delicacy much prized in the region gets larger each year so yet more forest needs to be destroyed to make room for more pastures in short an ecological disaster this road is like a scar and the drivers know it well as this hill seems insurmountable [Music] as if by magic a tractor shows up it seems that this mess is not natural but carefully maintained in this state so these people can make a little money how much is the toe 90 euros for each truck yep that's good for you then yes but on sunny days we're not needed as everything's dry for 360 euros the four trucks are pulled out of the mud [Music] the illegal roads are not the only threats to the amazon rainforest the construction of the third largest dam in the world called belo monte will eventually swallow up an area the size of paris equipped with 27 giant turbines it will produce 10 of brazil's electricity needs the waters inexorably rise and gradually flood indian territory 25 000 indigenous people were unceremoniously dispossessed and without any effective resettlement policy many now have nowhere to go and end up in the slums of large cities such as altamira [Music] zeela and her family are kayapo indians they were evicted a few days ago along with their seven children and are now squatting with cousins i can't afford to buy a house in town and her family's in force wandering is just beginning the construction site of the dam has attracted 80 000 workers to altamira and rents have skyrocketed even the poorer areas have become unaffordable [Music] zillow returns home to pick up a few personal possessions [Music] we have to be quick because the water is seeping into the basement and everything is being sucked in [Music] after two hours the small boat comes face to face with a huge dam just a few months ago there was nothing here the local indians could roam freely but now they have to use a special kind of lock just inaugurated by the people behind the damn project we've just come from altamira morning what's your name how are you their canoe is towed by a tractor that brings it to the other side of the dike [Music] a brand new four-wheel drive then transports zela and her family annoyed the operation has taken about an hour [Music] and now we have to wait to pass [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] much faster [Music] the indians are well aware that whatever happens nothing will change now it's delayed a lot it's a lousy transfer there's nothing good about it it's the destruction of our river [Music] when they arrive at their home zela sees the water has engulfed her garden and before their hut was about 50 meters from the shore [Music] the problem is that you can do nothing to stop rising water [Music] zealand's animals are hungry they haven't been fed for several days i feel sad because well because we had to struggle to build this house [Music] earned their living from harvesting and fishing cecilia and his son head off to check the nets that had to abandon when they left they should be filled with fish by now instead he's shocked by the color of the water a dead fish floats on the surface in fact the waters become unsuitable for any form of animal life once immersed plants and trees eventually ferment and the water becomes acidic killing the fish the water is too dirty and now there's a strong current it stops the nets from reaching the riverbed and anyway fish don't live in dirty water [Music] we can't survive by fishing anymore they dump rocks the acidic water also causes skin diseases such as the kind zealous sun caught while washing it's because i didn't know what was happening so when i bathed my my skin became like that in a few hours the whole family will head off on a long trip to an uncertain destination the downpour does not bode well for the convoy the track is turning into a small river [Applause] lower down the descent is awful it's really bad for trucks most drivers would wait until the rain stops but the threat of having paid deducted spurs mauro and his men to take the wheel the track is made of clay and unlike normal soil that absorbs rain and causes trucks to get bogged down clay is waterproof and it rapidly transformed the road into a sticky skating rink when it rains it's best to avoid having to break there are a lot of deep ruts here so one wrong move and you've had it [Music] frustrated by the delays mara goes too fast and takes too many risks [Music] we need to get over this hill before it rains too much or it'll be hell breaking or steering too abruptly and mauro will be in trouble the weight of the truck carries it along sliding and spinning towards a ditch [Applause] no it's no way this can't be true now i've had it if the truck leans over anymore it'll tip right over it depends how much you use the accelerator [Applause] marrow tours the truck to check there's been no damage some gold hunters in a quad pull over hey dude everything okay hello my lovely hi love how are you good how are you madame [Music] we will have a job to get my colleague down the front of the truck is heavy you have to dig to get it upright again the track holds the last truck hostage in these conditions the only technique to go downhill is to guide the truck along the road furrows nato the driver is worried [Music] no no no dig this way no i'm gonna dig deeper nato orders the others but does little work himself mind out will you yeah but no no come on get out of the way even stuck in the middle of the forest nato is like a maniac and without warning nato surges ahead find out get out the way in this deeply religious country there is always a church even deep in the forest the church of the perfect praise has taken on the task of teaching the children of gold hunters catechism once a week so are we going or not come on let's go god is with us the driver pedro however has some serious doubts let me have a look at these clouds though the almighty seems to have abandoned them the slippery slope is impassable for his old pickup [Music] hey mr chauffeur come on we can go on foot no we have to walk up and down it's too far no it's just over there it's not that far it will get dirty and wet pedro doesn't want to take the risk of sliding downhill and ending up in a ditch with all the children in the back so patent leather shoes and little ballet shoes will have to brave the mud the flirtatious nature of the brazilian female is not just a legend neither mud nor technical stress scared this lady who heads into town to go shopping with her fiance [Music] now this happens every day the chain's too heavy and it gets loose you'll try and put it back if you can and then we'll go on like most people here there are gold hunters a beautiful nugget could change their lives the lady dreams of a gleaming four-wheel drive [Music] when it's sunny it's fine to wear nice shoes but when it rains well there's no point [Music] [Music] there were only a few hundred gold miners here when they first made this clandestine track to reach their digs since then three villagers have sprung up in which nearly 10 000 people now live the state has been forced to legalize these settlements and the first step was to make the road passable to all vehicles [Music] the most economical way is to cover it with stones but work has ground to a halt stones are rare in the forest so as soon as there's a house to build the population helps itself especially the farmers [Music] the stones later on are ground up to make the road you see once refurbished the tracks will become well-surfaced national routes the smooth and straight line is much welcomed and after all the bumps and holds marrow puts his foot down is it the clutch the mechanism's breaking down ah that's the differential that's broken [Music] that's no good you'll have to undo everything has to be dismantled it breaks down because these rotten roads destroy everything it's complex machinery that they will take their time to dismantle on the side of the road [Music] um this is what's damaged it's the bolt inside we'll reassemble everything and then we'll head off [Applause] [Music] but will their repair job hold up on the banks of the river shingu the kayapo indians cecilio and zela are emptying their house before it's swallowed up by the waters because of the dam the water will reach here in just a few days the small family's entire life is packed onto these two canoes they have no room for their pigs and chickens who are abandoned to their fate [Music] the damn waters have forced 25 000 natives out and most are now homeless [Music] it's the last chance for the kids to have a swim before heading to a makeshift camp [Music] her family can sleep at a friend's house tonight tomorrow [Music] i live in anguish 24 hours a day i too have to leave because of the rising waters our destiny is in the hands of god the next day zeela and her family leave the land where they were born those uprooted in the name of progress begin a long journey into an uncertain future they were told that there might be a plot of land available somewhere a long way off [Music] the trip ends on foot in the sweltering heat [Music] here is the promised land occupied by some of the tribe all [Music] within a day or two zela and her husband build a small wooden hut with plastic for a roof or rather an oven with temperatures rising to 50 degrees during the day there's no shade it's very hot all day long they're all so simple at least there was a lot of water [Music] and there to meet the needs of the family zela her husband and her brother lived by fishing selling the fish provided an income but now they are far from the river so how can they earn a living the solution may lie out of sight in the depths of the forest the track leads to the hope of a better life zela's brother appears to have caught gold fever [Music] former fishermen converted to gold diggers have swarmed all over this hill cecilia would like to open his own mine no it's just the yellow earth near the veins you have to survive only with what you can extract though sometimes you can go a year without finding anything once up to a year without pay not a very encouraging statement after three hours of work the men sieved the earth in a puddle yeah i found half a gram yeah graham worth about 15 euros this is far from enough to feed his family in brazil life is almost as expensive as in europe cecilia is disappointed fishing brought in more and it was less dangerous in all this wall that i dug there is no gold there's just a tiny vein down there ah so you have to dig further down to find the vein that's where you can find gold here's where there is gold but it's dangerous because if a large chunk of earth comes loose it can break your neck just like that five men died in the next hole over there the choice is take risks or starve there would be one solution there are still men wanted to construct the dam the indians refuse to work there as they refuse anything to do with the enemy [Music] the party is in full swing at night in altamira revelers in fancy dress welcome the thousands of construction workers from the dam who live in town they've just been paid and a lot of it will be fritted away this evening on the balcony the deputy mayor is delighted with this windfall for his town the building site is synonymous with expansion with money and modern infrastructure altamira will soon have the appearance of a big city there are 20 000 people who've come from all over brazil it will help the region to develop the dam means we will have electricity for our country and we'll be able to sell some to neighboring countries too this is a great company for brazil and it's altamira our city that will benefit [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] this year the wealth is going towards the ball money from the consortium is flowing through altamira consortium that manages the work has helped finance the huge carnival and it's not out of kindness they know that in brazil samba has the power to stifle the cries of the most vocal environmental protesters [Music] mauro is chasing daylight the engine cranked up he's trying to cover as many kilometers as possible before nightfall those are a challenge those truck headlights [Music] the headlights are powerful but not enough to show up the traps [Music] in the dark it's the driver's reflexes that make the difference [Music] and it's very slippery the oncoming headlights are too close for comfort [Music] oh you won't make it why because there's a truck that's fallen into a big hole further up so how many trucks are stuck three in front and two behind [Music] any small vehicles can make it past okay have a safe journey [Music] nara has no choice he has to go on he relies on his experience to help rescue the unfortunate driver he'd recognize the truck anywhere it's part of his convoy and belongs to nato he was also driving quickly trying to avoid the night but the knight caught up with him and tricked him so what happened well to make the climb up i built up speed but then i slid and i found myself right in it now you'll need a tractor more like two big trucks to pull that out one isn't powerful enough you're carrying timber yep cut yup these truckers are transporting precious woods illegally chopped down their presence is a boon as the trucks have very powerful four-wheel drive engines to avoid getting bogged down and eventually caught by police patrols [Music] the two trucks take up position to toe nato out but all three will have to accelerate at the same time he'll give the signal we need everyone to pull together [Music] the cable breaks the nut holding the loop broke you see the cable is quickly repaired [Music] both trucks force the pace [Music] and nato's truck is eventually pulled free but not without some damage there's oil leaking no it's engine oil bad news for mauro the two timber trucks headed off quickly and now it's his turn to get stuck [Music] if i reverse maybe i can get it out again [Music] it's an endless struggle for marrow and his mates since their departure two days earlier they've been spared nothing holes ditches breakdowns mud we'll pull you you just steer yet nobody gets upset nobody gives up as they all fight this track it seems determined to make them lose part of their salary well done everything okay they'll never make up the time lost by this latest delay [Music] when they get to kreporizao their destination it's four o'clock in the morning and they've been driving for 18 hours this is a city created by the gold miners [Music] we've made it we're here [Music] in the city that never sleeps the temptations are great but this time marrow is really tired [Music] i'm exhausted finally the trip went well thank god maro will spend the night here at the fuel warehouse okay [Applause] this is the store where we will offload the fuel and it's there that we can sleep [Applause] some spend the night on the roof of their truck according to them it's much safer than a cheap hotel you sleep here because the temperature's nicer it's cooler plus here it's less dangerous to avoid any trouble we prefer it up here [Music] the next day the village slowly sobers up [Music] this is my life sometimes i look for gold yeah right he looks for gold in the bar drinking i had a bag with all my clothes and they stole everything you don't even try and get a job to afford to buy new clothes look at how swollen your feet are from drinking so much on the riverfront the fuel continues on its way to the gold mining sites [Music] as well as goods and especially fuel and it's not just fuel the miners consume in large quantities enough for a week there are a thousand people to deliver this too two-day trip [Music] for a few grams of gold thousands of men are massacring the forest with their hoses and pumps but the hope of a better life overcomes any qualms about the destruction [Music] the only choice people have is to look for gold it's a lottery [Music] and according to one scientific study it would take hundreds of years to return to its original state [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest journeys Brazil, dicing with death Brazil, dangerous Brazil, most dangerous roads Brazil, dangerous roads Brazil, deadliest roads Brazil, Brazil

Id: uQmQsr3voZM

Length: 49min 41sec (2981 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 02 2022