‘Amazon of America’: film paints vision of a post-coup Brazil giving up rainforest

The short film Vitória Régia envisions a dystopian future in Brazil where a far-right coup, supported by the United States, has dismantled the country’s democracy and handed over control of the Amazon rainforest to Washington. Set in 2025, the film depicts the assassination of Brazil’s president, the closure of the national congress, and the military’s rise to power following a successful insurrection led by Jair Bolsonaro’s allies. The Amazon, rich in natural resources, becomes a strategic asset for the U.S., symbolized by a replica of the Statue of Liberty carved into the jungle, while Brazilian journalists and Indigenous peoples face repression and censorship. The narrative draws on real events from the aftermath of Brazil’s 2022 election, when Bolsonaro’s attempted coup failed and his supporters were imprisoned. Vitória Régia imagines an alternate reality where the coup succeeds, leading to severe political and environmental consequences. In the film, Brazilian reporters are barred from the Amazon without visas, communication is cut off, and Indigenous leaders vanish amid a news blackout designed to conceal the ecological devastation. The U.S.-backed oil company Amazon X celebrates its new dominance over the region’s resources, highlighting the geopolitical stakes involved. Director Denis Kamioka, known as Cisma, created the film as a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy and the ongoing threats to the Amazon and its Indigenous communities. Shot before recent geopolitical events such as the U.S. attempt to abduct Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, the film blurs the lines between fiction and reality, underscoring concerns about foreign interference and environmental exploitation in Latin America. Vitória Régia serves as a stark warning about the potential consequences of authoritarianism and international power plays in one of the world’s most critical ecological regions.