The agreement between Mercosur and the European Union on fires in the Amazon

While thousands of hectares are still burning in the Amazon, the consequences recorded could go beyond the environmental problem, insofar as they generate in the political and economic field.

On Friday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned that if Brazil did not show a greater commitment to protecting the Amazon, it would try to block the agreement between the US and the US. European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).

Varadkar also criticized Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for his accusations Wednesday that environmental groups would be responsible for the fires, in order to discredit him as president before the international community. Varadkar considers the accusations to be "Orwellian", according to the Irish Independent newspaper.

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The Irish government is going through a period of strong pressure from beef producers, who fear that the deal with Mercosur will hurt them because of the arrival of cheaper South American products. The situation of these farmers was already tense because of the consequences of Brexit on the price of Irish meat.

The Irishman Phil Hogan, a member of the European Commission in charge of Agriculture and Rural Development, was forced to defend the agreement with Mercosur, accused of being considered a "punishment" of death "for Irish beef producers.

Until now, the Irish government has maintained its willingness to review the agreement point by point before deciding whether to ratify it or not. But since the data of the noticeable increase in fires in the Amazon rainforest have been revealed, 83% more this year compared to the same period in 2018, and Bolsonaro's accusations to NGOs, Varadkar said L & # Ireland has a way to support a free trade agreement if Brazil fails to meet its environmental obligations. "

The EU Trade Commissioner estimates that the treaty will only come into force in two years, with the Irish government intending to monitor the measures taken by Brazil in the field of the environment.

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Macron

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro criticized Thursday the decision of his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to include the Amazon fires in the agenda of the G7 summit scheduled this weekend in Biarritz.

"The Brazilian government remains open to dialogue, based on objective data and mutual respect.The proposal of the French president that the problems of the Amazon be discussed in the G7 without the participation of the countries of the region evokes a mentality wrong colonialist in the twenty-first century. ", said the Brazilian president through his account on the social network Twitter.

Bolsonaro also regretted that Macron is attempting to "exploit" an internal problem of Brazil and other Amazonian countries to "gain personal political gains".

According to the President of Brazil, countries that give money to preserve the Amazon rainforest do so to "interfere with our sovereignty" and not for charitable works.

In addition, Bolsonaro recognized for the first time that farmers could be involved in fires affecting the region.

A few hours earlier, the Brazilian president had denied accusing environmental NGOs of causing forest fires, although he admitted that the comment was based on his conjecture or mistrust, while ensuring that the government investigated fires that devastate the rainforest of the rainforest. Amazon

In a speech broadcast by the social network Facebook, Bolsonaro also admitted that the Brazilian government did not have the resources needed to fight fires in the Amazon jungle, which this year records a record number of accidents.

According to data from the Brazilian Space Research Institute (INPE), this year the fires have increased by 83% compared to 2018. In 2019, this state agency recorded 72,843 fires, the highest number since. had reached the previous record in 2013. Only since last Thursday, a week ago, 9,500 satellites have been programmed.