State of Amazonas

Amazonas State presents a paradox: Brazil's largest territory (1.57 million km²) with 98% forest cover maintained despite decades of industrial activity—protected not by environmental policy alone but by the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM) that concentrated development in a single urban node. The ZFM, established in 1967 and extended to 2073 via Constitutional Amendment 83 (2014), attracted multinationals to produce electronics and motorcycles through tax incentives. Revenue reached R$147.6 billion (January-August 2025).

The 2024 drought crisis exposed vulnerability beneath prosperity. Governor Wilson Lima declared emergency across all 62 municipalities as unprecedented low water levels halted navigation at the Madeira River mouth and around Manaus—one of the Amazon's worst environmental crises in 44 years. The river system that enables Manaus to function (it lacks road connections to most of Brazil) became impassable for cargo ships.

Economic diversification now prioritizes bioeconomy, science, and tourism—an attempt to make peace between the Free Trade Zone and the forest that, as studies note, "do not talk to each other" today. Manaus (population 2.28 million, 2024) is one of only two Amazon cities exceeding 1 million residents. The state's challenge: converting the protection that ZFM concentration accidentally provided into intentional sustainable development before climate change or economic shifts expose the model's fragility.