Abstract
This paper concerns the extraction, processing, and commercialization of native hardwoods from the Amazon – red cedar and mahogany – undertaken by the Central Brazil Foundation (FBC), through its Hardwood Exploration Service (SEM), in the Tocantins River Valley, during the second Vargas government (1951-1954). The FBC was subordinated directly to the presidency of Brazil. The president of the FBC, in the period in question, belonged to the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), which formed part of the parliamentary support base of the Vargas government. The SEM, although housing a highly technical management, served the political interests of the PTB. The SEM´s extinction coincided with the occasion of Vargas’ death. The research of this paper was based on original documentation, belonging to the FBC collection, currently stored in the National Archives, in Brasilia.