RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Bolsonaro said on Saturday, July 6th, that Brazil is a “virgin that every foreign pervert wants.” The statement came when the president was discussing the process of demarcation of indigenous lands and deforestation in the Amazon.
According to Bolsonaro, European countries are defending Amazon’s preservation because they intend to exploit it in the future. In his view, in “Europeans’ minds,” the region does not belong to Brazilians.
“Is the Amazon for Brazilians, in the minds of Europeans? No. No. […] The first world wants to manage this area for themselves,” said the president. “Brazil is a virgin that every foreign pervert wants,” he added.
The statement was made after Bolsonaro was questioned about Pope Francis’ speech; the pontiff had earlier said the Amazon exemplifies environmental and social problems occurring in different parts of the world: “A blind and destructive mentality that privileges profit over justice.”
He again criticized the influence of foreign countries in the process of demarcation of indigenous lands and quilombolas and the expansion of environmental protection areas. According to the president, this influence hindered the country’s progress during past governments.
“Do you want to lose the Amazon? When other presidents attended these meetings [abroad] as I did, they would come back and demarcate dozens of indigenous areas. Can you imagine the size of [Brazil’s] southeast region? Can you imagine? Put this in your head […] an area larger than that is reserved for Indians. The Indian has no lobbying power. Who does the demarcation if they don’t have lobbying power? NGOs, money from outside Brazil. Wealthy areas. What the rest of the world wants is to preserve this area for them to exploit one day,” said Bolsonaro.