Fordlândia, a cidade utópica abandonada na floresta amazônica. O sonho do industrial billionário Henry Ford de construir uma cidade utópica no meio da floresta amazônica desmoronou, quase um século atrás.

A Ford negociou um acordo com o governo brasileiro, que concordou em vender um terreno de 5,625 milhas quadradas (14 568 km²), às margens do rio Tapajós, por US $ 125 mil, de acordo com o The Guardian.

As terras foram adquiridas pela Companhia Ford Industrial do Brasil, por concessão do estado do Pará, por iniciativa do governador Dionísio Bentes e aprovada pela Assembléia Legislativa em 30 de setembro de 1927. O projeto foi oficialmente encerrado em 24 de dezembro de 1945, em acordo entre a Ford e o governo federal.

Hoje é distrito do município de Aveiro, no estado do Pará, atualmente pleiteia sua emancipação política.

“Ford tinha o direito de gerir Fordlândia como um estado separado”, escreveu o historiador Greg Grandin, em seu livro sobre Fordlandia.

Em 1930, a Ford pegou um trecho vazio da floresta, construindo lá modernos hospitais, escolas, geradores, e uma serraria.

Ele também construiu uma torre de água na cidade, que na época era considerada o marco da cidade.

Now, newly released images are giving the world yet another glimpse into the lost city of Fordlandia

Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, had ventured down to Brazil in search of a cheap source of rubber that would drive down the cost of tire production

But he had a grander vision of creating his own city-state that would be predicated on the values of capitalism – the same values that had made his company a success

‘We are not going to South America to make money, but to help develop that wonderful and fertile land,’ Ford said at the time. A building that once housed a hotel is seen in the image above

Ford had negotiated a deal with the Brazilian government, which agreed to sell him a 5,625-square-mile tract of land near the Tapajos River for $125,000

By 1930, Ford took an empty stretch of forest and built there modern hospitals, schools, generators, and a sawmill

Ford also built a water tower in the city (left), which at the time was considered a landmark structure

Ford would run the city just as he had run his company. He believed in treating his workers fairly while also instilling certain social codes of behavior, like abstinence from alcohol

After Fordlandia collapsed in the 1940s, looters pilfered the leftover buildings and made off with anything they could find

Ford also arranged for American-style entertainment, like a dance hall and a movie theater that screened Hollywood films

The image above shows crosses from the cemetery in Fordlandia. The crosses were toppled by floods, which ravaged the cemetery

Some crosses managed to survive the floods and are standing to this day. The city has somewhat recovered from its collapse

The image above shows an abandoned factory built by Ford during his time there

But Ford's ambitious plans would run into trouble. Ford lacked the necessary manpower to do the excruciatingly difficult task of clearing the forest

He also miscalculated his initial assessment that he would be able to sell Amazon wood at a profit. Instead, the wood turned out to be useless

Eventually, Fordlandia was doomed because the product that was supposed to bankroll its existence – rubber – could not be grown and produced

The trees that were planted and which were supposed to yield large quantities of rubber were instead beset by blight

The image above shows what remains of one of the hospitals built in Fordlandia. Remnants of hospital beds and a patient's chair are seen above

Although Ford paid the Brazilian government $125,000, he could have had the land for almost nothing

Fordlandia gave the Brazilian locals a taste of American life, though their standard of living was lower than that of the Americans who came to manage the city

The trees that were planted and which were supposed to yield large quantities of rubber were instead beset by blight. A famiy is seen in one of the homes built near the tributary

An old typewriter is seen in the midst of other rusted-out manufacturing equipment in an abandoned factory in Fordlandia

The abandoned homes and factories in Fordlandia have been taken over by the plants that have grown in the rain forest

Seeing as how the cost of running the city far exceeded the revenue from what was sold, it was only a matter of time before the project died

Construction on Fordlandia began in the late 1920s. By the end of the Second World War, with Ford in poor health, his grandson, Henry Ford II, sold the city back to the Brazilian government at a substantial loss

Now visitors to Fordlandia could get a glimpse of rusted-out warehouses and abandoned buildings

Ford dirigiria a cidade tal como dirigia sua companhia.

Ele pagou salários justos a seus trabalhadores e insistiu que eles comessem refeições nutritivas e se abstivessem de álcool.

A Ford também organizou entretenimento ao estilo americano, como um salão de dança e um cinema, que exibia filmes de Hollywood.

Para maior recreação, ele ainda tinha um campo de golfe.

Mas seus planos ambiciosos iriam ter problemas.

Ford não tinha mão-de-obra necessária para fazer a difícil tarefa de limpar a floresta.

Ele também calculou mal sua avaliação inicial, de que seria capaz de vender madeira da Amazônia com lucro. Em vez disso, a madeira acabou sendo inútil.

Eventualmente, Fordlândia seria condenada, porque o produto que, supostamente, financiaria sua existência, a borracha, não pode ser cultivada e produzida.

As seringueiras que foram plantadas e que deveriam produzir grandes quantidades de látex, foram atacadas pela ferrugem.

Como o custo de administrar a cidade excedia, em muito, a receita do que era vendido, foi apenas uma questão de tempo antes que o projeto morresse.

A construção de Fordlândia começou no final dos anos 20. No final da Segunda Guerra Mundial, com Ford em péssima saúde, seu neto, Henry Ford II, vendeu a cidade de volta ao governo brasileiro, com uma perda substancial.

Agora, os visitantes de Fordlândia podem ter um vislumbre de seus armazéns e prédios.

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