RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro called the Greenpeace environmental organization “garbage” on Thursday morning, February 12th. He responded to criticism from the NGO, founded in 1971, over the reform of the National Council of the Legal Amazon.
“Who is Greenpeace? Who is this crap called Greenpeace? That’s garbage,” said Bolsonaro as he left the Alvorada Palace. In a statement, Greenpeace had stressed that the reformed council will be made up exclusively by members of the federal government, without the involvement of governors of the Amazonia states.
According to Greenpeace, the Amazon Council “has no plan, goal or budget”. “It (the Council) will not overturn the government’s anti-environmental policy and does not aim to fight deforestation or environmental crime. The governors, indigenous peoples and civil society are not part of its structure,” said the international organization.
In the text, Greenpeace also says that the transfer of the Environment Ministry’s council to the vice-presidency of the Republic is an attempt to “minimize the negative impact of Minister Ricardo Salles’s administration”.
“Bolsonaro has removed the Minister of Environment from the command of environmental policies for the Amazon and hopes that this will be enough to deceive public opinion and international investors. But the results will continue to be monitored daily by the satellites that measure deforestation,” it said.
Ministry
In a conversation with journalists, Bolsonaro said he is considering creating an additional ministry to deal with the Amazon rainforest. The suggestion may have come from federal Deputy Átila Lins, who met with Bolsonaro in the morning.
However, the decision would be contingent on an assessment of its economic impact. In addition, Bolsonaro stated that he was waiting for the approval of the Central Bank’s autonomy bill to consider the creation of another portfolio.
Source: Estado