Henry Ford's utopia, dystopia of others
- Amazonia, 1928. The car company Ford built in the jungle a village called Fordland, on the banks of the Tapajos, a tributary of the Amazon.
Henry Ford (1863-1947) intended to produce rubber for use on the wheels of his cars, until then the rubber production monopoly was in the hands of British and Dutch. But by the way, they built a utopian village for the 3,000 workers who were going to work on the ground floor and in the factory, and they filled the jungle with their typical white, single-parent houses in the United States, who dream of the lives of the poor workers of any country. The church, hospital, nightclub and pool were also built, as well as one of these bright water deposits that appear in the typical landscape of the United States. And for American employers they made a special, more luxurious neighborhood, because inequality is a fundamental part of the “American dream.”
For Brazilian workers to play as if they were good Americans, Ford banned smoking and drinking alcohol locally, as well as playing soccer (of course, the sport they call soccer, not the “real” football of Americans). In addition, to ensure compliance with the standards, the employers had permission to freely explore the houses of the workers. The usual hours from 9:00 to 17:00 were applied; the workers said that at sunrise and sunset they worked normally, at noon, that they could not sunbathe, but did not listen to them.
American food was also imposed on the inhabitants of Fordland. Beyond taste and customs, the American diet caused stomach problems in the rainforest
American food was also imposed on the inhabitants of Fordland. Beyond taste and customs, the U.S. diet caused stomach problems in the rainforest, so in 1930 several workers jumped into the factory dining room. The bosses had to flee to the jungle until the Brazilian army shut down the rebellion. And the workers went back to work -- to produce little.
The engineers of the company Ford organized the rubber plantation ignoring professionals who knew the wet and steep lands perfectly. Under these conditions, between 3 and 4 trees decided to plant about 80 trees in the growing area to increase production. But because of moisture and concentration, pests ate production. Accepting the total defeat, Ford completely abandoned Fordland in 1934 and 40 kilometers from Belterra restarted the project, leaving that second attempt of synthetic rubber.
No gram of rubber produced in Fordland became part of a Ford car. And even Henry Ford never stomped the idyllic dream town, among many other phobias, that had intense germ phobia.
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