Surrounded By Enemies
Aracruz Celulose in Brazil is the world’s leading supplier of bleached eucalyptus pulp.
The main figure in planning and establishing the company, is the Norwegian business man, Erling Lorentzen. He is married to Princess Ragnhild of Norway and the brother in law to King Harald.
The company was established with the support from the brutal Brazilian military regime. The dictatorship lasted 21 years.
In an interview with Harvard Business School, Erling Lorentzen states:
“The military dictatorship was good in the beginning.”
“It cleaned up a few things, but it lasted too long”.
The documentary, “Surrounded by Enemies”, tells the story about Aracruz Celulose and the methods the companies men have used in building the powerful international company.
This is documentary number two in the trilogy, “Flip the coin”, produced by Erling Borgen (Norway) and Tom Heinemann (Denmark).
Erling Lorenten sold his shares in Aracruz Cellulose this summer and says he has, ”...closed a door in Brazil”.
But he has left behind many unsolved problems involving Aracruz Celulose.
Aracruz was for nearly 40 years fighting for land with the Guarani and Tupinikim indians. The dispute was settled in 2007, when the indians won, and Aracruz had to give back 11 000 hectar of land to the indigenuous people.
Now many other groups claim land from the pulp company. The Patoxo indians, the Quilombolo-communities and the powerful landless movement. (MST)
Environmentalists accuse Aracruz of environmental destruction through eucalyptus monocultures. And in this documentary, Aracruz admits, that the company has cut down Atlantic rainforest.
Both links in Norwegian
In a short while, the documentary will be presented in an English version.