Minister Says Bolsonaro Government Has Not Had Time to Address Amazon and Pantanal

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Minister Augusto Heleno, head of the Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI), said that the Jair Bolsonaro government, after one year and nine months in office, has not yet “had time” to address the Amazon and the Pantanal.

The two biomes are suffering from the increased patch burning since the government’s inception, which has led to international pressure on the country. General Heleno also said that the Amazon rainforest endures “mistreatment”.

“We know exactly what we have to do in the Brazilian Amazon and the Pantanal, but there has not been time yet to put it into practice, to get people there to do it,” said Heleno, commenting on foreign demands for Brazil to take better care of its native forests.

“Can we improve the monitoring of deforestation in the Amazon? Of course, we should do that. But that’s what I say, the Jair Bolsonaro government is one year and nine months old, there is no way to solve all of Brazil’s problems. We have spent 40 years with a catastrophic management of our resources, including natural resources.”

Heleno’s comments were broadcast on Saturday, October 3rd, in a recorded conversation between the Minister and federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, the President’s son, on the deputy’s YouTube channel. “The Amazon can even withstand the mistreatment it has suffered,” argued Heleno.

In reaction to international criticism from governments, environmentalists and companies, President Jair Bolsonaro has used the argument at the United Nations that the Amazon rainforest is humid and therefore “does not catch fire”.

“We have 80 percent of the Amazon forest cover preserved. Europe used to have seven percent, today it has 0.1 percent. But now they criticize us daily, we are the ‘great villains’ of the environment in the world. But South America, thanks to Brazil, currently holds 41 percent of the world’s tropical forests. We accept the criticism, we know we can improve and we will improve,” said Heleno.

The Minister dismissed the changes in legislation and environmental policy coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment, such as the cutting of funds for forest patrols. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has asked the courts to remove Minister Ricardo Salles from office because of his dismantling of preservation efforts.

The Bolsonaro government decided to centralize command of environmental operations in Vice-President Hamilton Mourão, an Army reservist general and former brigade commander in the Amazon. He chairs the National Council of the Legal Amazon. The budget announced for Operation Verde Brasil was R$60 million (US11 million).

However, Heleno said that jungle areas have few inhabitants and voters: “for a long time it was considered unrewarding to address the Amazon with the seriousness it merits”. According to the Minister, everything in the Amazon is “very expensive” because of the distances, lack of infrastructure and means of transport.

Heleno mentioned that Mourão made a “tremendous self-critique” in recognizing that the military-led Operation Verde Brasil should have been maintained since last year instead of being interrupted and resumed, which delayed the fight against the flames. Now Mourão wants to extend it to 2022. “This mistake will not be repeated, so you can expect much better results in 2021 in relation to the Amazon.”

“Now people outside Brazil who have no moral grounds to criticize us, who have wiped out their own forests, to criticize as vehemently as they do, to want to portray us as villains of the environment, I can’t accept that,” said Heleno.

Eduardo Bolsonaro said that until the G-20 meeting last year in Japan, everything looked good on the international level. He mentioned French president Emmanuel Macron, one of the main critics of the Bolsonarist environmental policy, as someone who has changed his stance. As a result of the uncontrolled fires, Macron opposed the European Union trade agreement with Mercosur.

Source: UOL