Federal prosecutors in Brazil have celebrated a court decision mandating the preservation of Fordlandia, a 1928 city built by the United States industrialist Henry Ford in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.The court ruling was the result of decades of advocacy, as historians, activists and residents pushed for the crumbling site to be protected.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listSome hope the site can ultimately be restored and used to anchor the local tourism industry in the Brazilian state of Para.In a statement on Friday, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office called the court ruling a “landmark” decision that will rectify a gap in Brazil’s cultural preservation efforts.“The complex has suffered from neglect for decades,” the office wrote.“The ruling acknowledges the arguments presented by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in the case, highlighting the historical omission by public authorities.”The decision requires the federal government, the state of Para, the local government in Aveiro and the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) to collaborate to protect the site.“They must all act together to save the property, which is in an advanced state of decay,” the prosecutor’s office said.Since the 1990s, an administrative process has been under way to determine whether Fordlandia should be preserved.But prosecutors — on both the federal and state level — have pointed out that the “inertia” of the government towards the site has “put its conservation at risk”.In Friday’s statement, the federal office argued that Fordlandia’s historical significance is clear. Advertisement “Fordlandia is a landmark chapter in the history of Bra …
