The Legal Amazon

The Legal Amazon is formed by 9 Brazilian states — Amazonas, Pará, Roraima, Rondônia, Acre, Mato Grosso, Amapá, Tocantins and Maranhão. The law dates back to the 1950s and aims at protecting the rainforest. A new bill proposes cutting out the state of Mato Grosso from the country’s legally defined Amazon region to allow greater deforestation there for agribusiness.