Serra Verde

Serra Verde (in English: Green Mount) is a province in the southeastern region of Maracatibe. Serra Verde is the country's least populous subdivision, with only 445,881 inhabitants in 2020. With that number, and with the large area, it is the subdivision with the lowest. Its capital and largest city is Tabaté, with 142 thousand inhabitants, being the least populous provincial capital of Maracatibe. Before 1948, it was part of the province of Diamantina, and was instituted to improve the region's development policies (although many consider the division to be unnecessary).

The majority of the population, about 70%, speak as a first language, this being the largest proportion of native speakers among the provinces of Maracatibe. Serra Verde is also the province with the highest proportion of native ethnicities, since descendants of Jungastians make up only 12% of the population, while the predominant ethnicity, Bangui, makes up more than 50%. The economy is linked to the mining of and, in the northern part, and also to the , mainly of ,  and. The is very underdeveloped compared to other provinces. is also very strong, since the Serras Verdes National Park, which gives the province its name, is located there, and its lush natural landscapes, caves and waterfalls attract a large number of travelers there.

The province was proposed in 1948, by senator Geraldo Ramos. Previously, [Serra Verde was part of Diamantina, but there was a big difference in the level of development and settlement of the two provinces, and in order to improve public policies aimed at that region, Serra Verde was instituted as a Federal Territory in the same year. As a federal territory, Serra Verde started to be administered directly by the national capital. At the time, Tabaté was the only city in the province to have more than 20,000 inhabitants, and transportation infrastructure was very limited. Thus, the government proposed a development and settlement plan for the region, starting with financing road construction, installing and reducing taxes and bureaucracy in order to attract industries. The success of these policies led to the emancipation of the federal territory in 1952, and elevation to the category of Province. Geraldo Ramos was its first governor.

However, plans to industrialize Serra Verde failed, with the few mining-related industries fleeing to Paraté, Diamantina and Indauá decades later. But the economy managed to diversify, leaving the only extraction of rubber, lumber, spices  and family farming and receiving a more developed service and tourism sector. Serra Verde was the last province to become more urban than rural, in 1981, and is currently the least urbanized in the country, with 65% of the population living in cities. During the Maracatibean Conflict, Serra Verde suffered a lot from guerrilla attacks and was the epicenter of the conflict in the Southeast. Guerrillas are still active today, and the province also suffers from drug and arms trafficking. As a result, Serra Verde is the most violent province of Maracatibe, with a number of violent deaths exceeding 61.6 per 100 thousand inhabitants. The failure of the "Serra-verdian Dream" meant that the forecast of 700 thousand inhabitants by the year 2000 did not materialize, as many chose to go to provinces with more opportunities.

Main locations


Serra Verde has 15 municipalities, this number being lower than that of Pombal (14). The fifteen municipalities of Serra Verde, in order of population, are: Tabaté (capital), Senador Ramos, Ibipará, Guiracatu, Itapitanga, Parasununga, Santo Idelfonso, Independência, Forte Weiber, Serra de Maracá, Castelo Dourado, Fort Austral, Bananal do Oeste, Serra Verde Farms, São Marinho.



The largest and most important city is Tabaté, which is the provincial capital. Tabaté has a population of 142,682 inhabitants, making it the capital of the least populous province of Maracatibe. Its foundation dates back to the third century BC, when it emerged as a city-state Bangui. Tabaté came under the control of several different states, such as the Bangui, Kwaba, Taraonydian, and were the center of the kingdom itself, the Kingdom of Itia, whose existence was brief, shortly after the dissolution of the Second Kwaba Empire. Tabaté means, in Kwaba "high city", obviously due to the elevation of the settlement, which is the only provincial capital located more than a thousand meters above sea level. It is located in the Serras Verdes, and contains part of the Serras Verdes National Park, the main tourist attraction in the province.



Another important city of Serra Verde is Senador Ramos, which is located in the north of the province. With a population of 100.6 thousand inhabitants, it is the only other city, besides Tabaté, whose population exceeds 100 thousand. The other 13 cities all have populations of less than 40 thousand inhabitants. Senador Ramos and surrounding municipalities concentrate mining activity in the province of Serra Verde, with an emphasis on the extraction of iron, bauxite, diamonds and gold. The fourth largest diamond mine in Maracatibe is located there, and is the only one of the ten largest mines that are not located in Diamantina or Indauá.



The village of São Marinho, with only 3,622 inhabitants, is the least populous municipality of Maracatibe.