It seems to me that Fordlandia was too ambitious. He wanted a perfect society based on his beliefs that could also create tires for his company. The goal should have been simply to create a colony in the Amazon that produces rubber. Period. No micromanaging of the workers lives. Not even production of the tires. Simply harvesting rubber.
If this was the goal I could see Fordlandia surviving as a pretty horrible place. Rubber harvesting is a terrible job. You work hard in a hot climate. Disease and death are common. Its a job you do because you are forced to.
Fordlandia would have been a plantation of the worst kind rather than a self sufficient society. To keep up with workers lost from death and fleeing, workers will be convicts or kidnapped, kept there as virtual slaves. Bribes to local governments will allow this.
Modern Slavery in Brazil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_brazil#Modern_slavery