Balaté is a village of

Lokono The Lokono or Arawak are an Arawak people native to northern coastal areas of South America. Today, approximately 10,000 Lokono live primarily along the coasts and rivers of Guyana, with smaller numbers in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Trinida ...

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

in the commune of

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (, ; ) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat of the Arrondissement ...

at the confluence of the

Maroni River The Maroni () or Marowijne (; ) is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname. Course The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. It originates in the Tumuk Humak Mountains and forms ...

and the Balaté River in

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

History

Balaté was founded in 1946 near the town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The village had a population of about 600 people as of 2017. In 1987,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

established Zones of Collective Use Rights (ZDUC). Since 1993, the village has 3,710 hectares of

communal land Communal land is a (mostly rural) territory in possession of a community, rather than an individual or company. This sort of arrangement existed in almost all Europe until the 18th century, by which the king or the church officially owned the la ...

located about 10 kilometres from the village to be used for fishing, hunting and

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

. In 2006,

Léon Bertrand Léon Bertrand (born 11 May 1951) is a French politician. Previously a professor of physics and biology, he was Mayor of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni from 1983 until 2018. He was elected to the French National Assembly for the Rally for the Republic ...

, who was both Mayor of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Delegate Minister of Tourism, developed plans for a large tourist resort with a luxury hotel and casino in the village of Balaté. Captain Brigitte Wyngaarde, the traditional village chief, successfully opposed the plans.

References

Bibliography

* Indigenous villages in French Guiana Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Villages in French Guiana {{FrenchGuiana-geo-stub