RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) said on Thursday, September 19th, that it’s clear that will be “confronted” during his participation in the UN General Assembly next week, in New York.
According to Bolsonaro, he has been “viciously” attacked by some countries that point to him as “responsible for the fires in Brazil”.
“We know that there is burning every year, even as a matter of tradition,” said the president.”We do what we can. Some European countries are hitting us hard”.
If the trip to the US is confirmed, the president’s delegation will leave Brasília on the evening of September 23rd. The president is expected to speak at the opening of the UN General Assembly on the 24th. The return to Brazil is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25th.
Bolsonaro said again that the Amazon forest fires would end if he were to demarcate new indigenous lands or Quilombola communities. The president said that a further 400 indigenous reserves and 900 Quilombola communities were expected to be demarcated.
He added that European countries were buying the forest through transfers into the Amazon Fund.
The president said he “knows” that he could face issues during the assembly. “It’s obvious, but you’ll have a president who speaks from the heart about national sovereignty,” he said.
Bolsonaro, however, reasoned: “Rest assured, no one will fight with anyone”.
The president’s statements were made on his weekly social media broadcast, alongside Miguel Ivan Lacerda, director of the Department of Biofuels of the Ministry of Mines and Energy.