Opinion: as president, Lula should read the Constitution more

By Alexandre Garcia

(Opinion) Speaking about the Yanomami and the miners before the German Chancellor, President Lula said that his government would no longer allow anything, would not give a license for anyone to mine, and that the Mines and Energy Agency would no longer authorize anyone to conduct research in any indigenous area.

I know that all Brazilians should read the Constitution.

But especially a president of the Republic should read the Constitution because he has sworn to uphold the Constitution.

Because he is saying that the energy agency will no longer give licenses for research and that he will no longer allow mining on indigenous land.

THE NATIONAL CONGRESS

This is not new; this is from 1988, from the Constitution, article 231, paragraph 3.

“The use of water resources, including energy potential, and the research and exploitation of mineral wealth on indigenous lands may only be carried out with the authorization of the National Congress,” is what the Constitution says.

The president, Jair Bolsonaro or Lula, does not have this power to authorize or prohibit.

The National Congress, therefore, is the one who can do this.

By the way, there is a law sanctioned by Dilma in 2013, which the Green Party has now discovered.

The party has gone to the Supreme Court to see if it can cancel a part of that law, which states that the legality of the gold of those who are selling it must be presumed.

And presume the good faith of the person who is buying.

The Green Party – it seems that the PSB also joined the lawsuit – is saying that this facilitates ‘garimpo’ [mining carried out by individuals].

‘GARIMPOS’

Another thing: alerted by the former minister of Lula and Dilma, the former president of the Chamber and the rapporteur of the Forest Code, Aldo Rebelo, questioned, since they talked about removing all the miners if they are going to remove the Indians who mine, including in association with miners.

What about the Cintas Largas of the Roosevelt Reserve, who mine diamonds?

The media reality is one thing, and the Amazonian reality is another.

DAYCARE CENTERS OR DISNEY?

Some daycare centers here in the Federal District that I have contact with, hundreds of daycare centers, thousands of children that need daycare centers even to eat because the mothers work and have no resources; they live off benefactors.

So I compare these daycare centers, where a thousand reais a month makes a difference because they feed a certain number of children, with the Rouanet Law.

It was R$3.8 million for a Disney show; R$3.9 million for another Disney show; R$3.7 million for a rock concert; R$5 million for a Brazilian artist.

I keep comparing it with the money for the daycare centers for the children.

And then I think about it when a politician talks about “social justice”.

With information from Gazeta do Povo