Bolsonaro defies his critics over Amazon farming
JAIR BOLSONARO, Brazil’s president, doubled down in defence of his Amazon policies despite international condemnation for allowing loggers and farmers to trigger the worst wildfires on record.
Mr Bolsonaro, the farRight former army captain and ally of Donald Trump, used a rare televised address to say that those living in the Amazon basin should be allowed “to develop along with the rest of the country” by exploiting the “incalculable wealth … of natural resources” in the region.
His speech was met with protests across the country, with residents in major cities whistling, banging pots and sounding car horns to show their displeasure.
It followed stark warnings from members of the G7, and European countries in particular, that threatened to cancel a huge trade deal with Latin America.
There have been about 75,000 fires in the Amazon this year alone, an 83 per cent increase on last year. They have been largely blamed on loggers and farmers who have been given the green light by a raft of land and business reforms that have rolled back environmental regulations. Despite the uptick in fires, the number of fines dished out this year has fallen 29.4 per cent.
On Friday, Mr Bolsonaro ordered the armed forces to any Amazonian state that requests assistance. The state of Rondônia is one of two states to have received support so far.
Close to the town of Machadinho d’Oeste, one rural settlement was razed to the ground.
In the state capital of Porto Velho, a local children’s hospital has treated over 500 young people with respiratory difficulties since the beginning of August.
Local indigenous groups have also began to speak out about the fires which, along with a rapid increase in deforestation, is threatening their land.
Raoni Metuktire, an indigenous chief famous for his campaign work, called for Mr Bolsonaro’s removal from power.
Mr Bolsonaro’s speech was delivered with an uncharismatically humble tone compared with his usual brash and combative demeanour. Under mounting internal and external pressure, he said the government is “working to combat illegal deforestation … which put our Amazon at risk”.
The comments marked a retreat from his previous position blaming the fires on foreign NGOs bent on undermining him.