--- title: "3 Chico Mendes Quotes - Famous Politician (O testamento do homem da floresta)" description: "Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist who fought to preser..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-chico-mendes-23173.jpg" --- ![Portrait of Chico Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-chico-mendes-23173.jpg) # Chico Mendes (1944–1988) Politician **3** quotes in **23** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet Chico Mendes was a politician, best known for *O testamento do homem da floresta*. ## Quick Facts About Chico Mendes Born December 15, 1944 Died December 22, 1988 Profession Politician Notable works O testamento do homem da floresta ## About Chico Mendes Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist who fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous people. He was assassinated by a hired killer on 22 December 1988. The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, a body under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, is named in his honour. ## Quotes by Chico Mendes > [At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chico-mendes/at-first-i-thought-i-was-fighting-to-save-rubber-trees-then-i-thought/) Chico Mendes [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/chico-mendes-74463_amazon_at-first-i-thought-i-was-fighting-to-sav_1162004.jpg) > [I became an ecologist long before I had ever heard the word,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chico-mendes/i-became-an-ecologist-long-before-i-had-ever-heard-the-word/) Chico Mendes [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/chico-mendes-74463_heard_i-became-an-ecologist-long-before-i-had_1250700.jpg) > [“At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chico-mendes/at-first-i-thought-i-was-fighting-to-save-rubber-trees-then-i-thought-2/) Chico Mendes [Amazon rainforest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazon-rainforest/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/chico-mendes-74463_amazon-rainforest_at-first-i-thought-i-was-fighting-to-sav_1310698.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chico-mendes/#itemlist", "name": "Chico Mendes Quotes", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rain forest. 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