Brazilian court orders preservation of historic Fordlandia

A court in the Brazilian state of Pará has ordered federal and local authorities to restore and preserve Fordlandia, a historic district built by American industrialist Henry Ford in the Amazon rainforest nearly a century ago. Federal prosecutors hailed the ruling as a landmark decision that will rectify a longstanding gap in the nation's cultural preservation efforts.

The court decision, issued two weeks ago, mandates that the federal government, the state of Pará, the local government in Aveiro, and the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage collaborate to protect the site. The ruling requires these entities to develop and implement a recovery plan for the property, which prosecutors described as being in an advanced state of decay, with potential financial penalties for noncompliance. The legal action stems from a lawsuit filed by federal prosecutors in 2015 against heritage agencies and the city of Aveiro for failing to preserve Fordlandia.

Built beginning in the late 1920s by the Ford Motor Company, Fordlandia was conceived as a rubber-tapping metropolis to secure a steady supply of natural rubber for automobile tires. The project represented an American...