RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Loud protests were heard in several Brazilian cities during President Jair Bolsonaro’s speech on Friday night, August 23rd.
The president went on air at 8:30 PM, on a national network, to broadcast his position on the crisis resulting from the Amazon fires, which have triggered global repercussions.
He argued that forest fires occur in other parts of the world and cannot lead to international sanctions against Brazil.
“Forest fires exist all over the world. This cannot be a pretext for potential international penalties. Brazil will continue to be, as it has been until today, a friendly country to all and in charge of the protection of its Amazon forest”, he said.
Bolsonaro said that the fires in recent weeks are within the last fifteen years average, but that the government is not content and will act to contain the fires.
There are reports of “panelaços” protests (a form of popular protest where people bang pots and pans) in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Porto Alegre.
In São Paulo’s capital, protests occurred with cries of “Bolsonaro, out!” and “Not him” in the central and western neighborhoods, such as Barra Funda, Santa Cecília, Higienópolis, and Pinheiros.
In Rio, protest reports include neighborhoods such as Copacabana and Humaitá. There were reports of protests in downtown Belo Horizonte, in Porto Alegre, Centro, Rio Branco, Petrópolis, and Jardim Botânico.
Earlier, Bolsonaro signed a decree authorizing the deployment of the military in the Amazon to contain the forest fires. The government is holding talks with the U.S. and Israel in an attempt to show that it is not acting in isolation.
In addition to the “panelaço” protests, demonstrators took to the streets earlier in capitals such as Brasília, São Paulo, and Rio to protest against the federal government’s environmental policies.
Protests in defense of the Amazon congregate thousands in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília.
Demonstrators protested in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on Friday night, August 23rd, against the increase in deforestation in the Amazon. Thousands of people brought posters and flags to the streets with slogans against president Jair Bolsonaro and Environment Minister Ricardo Salles.
In São Paulo, the protest occurred on Avenida Paulista, with a gathering in front of the São Paulo Arts Museum (MASP), where people gathered starting at 6 PM and held posters with slogans such as “Amazonia in flames” and “Salles, out”.
In Rio de Janeiro, demonstrations began at 5 PM, with protesters marching and displaying flags of student groups and civil society organizations. Brasília, on the other hand, recorded protests in the afternoon, when marching youths shouted slogans.