Bolsonaro Says Merkel Should Reforest Germany with Suspended Amazon Money

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Bolsonaro’s speech was made when commenting that he is looking for a new Federal Prosecutor General who is not an extremist in relation to the environmental issue and that the government faces problems of licensing for infrastructure works.

“I even want to send a message to my dear lady Angela Merkel, who suspended the aid of US$80 million for the Amazon. Take this money and reforest Germany, okay? There it’s much more needed than here,” he said.

At the end of last week, the German government announced that it would suspend the transfer of funds for the maintenance of the Brazilian Amazon due to the increase in deforestation in the country. According to the German press, the suspension may exceed R$150 million, which today would equal about US$38 million.

According to data from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research) obtained through the Deter (Detection of Deforestation in Real Time), deforestation increased 278 percent in July this year compared to the same month last year. The government claims that the figures are inflated by questionable methods in detecting deforestation.

After exchanging public barbs, Inpe’s president Ricardo Galvão was dismissed for criticizing Bolsonaro and defending the institute’s data. A military officer with a career in the field was put in his place on an interim basis.

In mid-July, Bolsonaro had already said that he would not accept criticism from foreign governments about the way how Brazil deals with environmental preservation. According to him, there are hidden interests behind the criticism.

At the time, he reinforced national sovereignty over the Brazilian Amazon.

(Source: UOL)