RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The cabinet of U.S. President Joe Biden this week received a long file signed by academics and non-governmental organizations calling for a freeze on diplomatic negotiations with Brazil, as well as the suspension of the import of products linked to deforestation in the Amazon.
“The main priority should be to restrict, through an executive order or legislation, imports of forest risk commodities, such as timber, soybeans and livestock products, unless it can be determined that such imports are not linked to deforestation or human rights abuses,” reads the 27-page document.
In its introduction, the file states that the recent “special relationship” between the United States and Brazil has enabled the violation of human and environmental rights and protected President Jair Bolsonaro from suffering the “international consequences” of his deeds.
The document also lists six specific actions that the new U.S. government should pursue in favor of environmental protection and human rights compliance in Brazil. The first of them is the freezing of bilateral trade negotiations with Brazil.
Moreover, the experts also call on Biden’s administration to withdraw its current support for Brazil’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and to suspend military aid and cooperation until there is a “rigorous review within the security forces”. They also call for denunciations of murders or threats of human rights and environmental activists, an evaluation of Brazil’s infrastructure investment strategy, and an investigation into the involvement of organized crime in environmental crimes in the country.
In addition to professors from Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Berkeley and Princeton universities, academics from the University of São Paulo (USP) and representatives of non-governmental organizations such as Greenpeace and Amazon Watch also sign the document.
In a statement, Greenpeace Brazil stated that Bolsonaro’s complete disregard for Brazil’s environmental heritage, traditional communities, and democracy “leaves the country in an increasingly vulnerable political and economic position on the international stage, endangering diplomatic and trade agreements.”
“This document is one more sign from the international community, on the part of civil society and researchers, of a reality that is often covered up by the Bolsonaro government,” reads the note.
The recommendations made to the U.S. government are complemented by a comprehensive report that analyzes the actions of the Jair Bolsonaro government in areas such as deforestation, climate change, indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, public health, democracy, and compliance with the rule of law. “Bolsonaro continues to ignore democratic practices that ensure free and fair elections and crucial controls and assessments of government power,” the document says.
The report also accuses the current administration of failing in its duty to guarantee environmental protection and the rights of indigenous peoples. It also points to cuts in spending and infrastructure in the public healthcare system (SUS) and poor Brazilian management of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The change in the White House is fuel for the file. Jair Bolsonaro’s administration began to forge a closer relationship with the United States during Donald Trump’s administration, prompted mainly by ideological compatibility between the two countries’ presidents.
However, with President Biden’s victory in last November’s elections, it was feared that ties could be strained. One of the main flags raised by the Democratic candidate during his campaign was environmental preservation, a subject on which Brazil has been internationally denounced and criticized.
Source: Veja