The Estrada de Ferro Madeira–Mamoré (EFMM) was inaugurated in what is now the state of Rondônia. The railway was built to bypass dangerous river rapids and improve transport in the western Amazon region, linking Porto Velho and Guajará-Mirim. Its construction became infamous for extreme working conditions, disease, and heavy loss of life, which is why it is often remembered as a dramatic episode of Brazil’s rubber-boom era. The EFMM helped consolidate Brazilian presence and logistics in a remote frontier area that was strategically important after the boundary arrangements between Brazil and Bolivia.
