Bolsonaro overcomes fire crisis, but 7 states are asking for help

The Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, estimated yesterday that the crisis caused by the fires in the Amazon region had been overcome, while the number of federated states that had requested the help of the armed forces to repress them was spent at seven.

"A big thank you to dozens of state leaders who listened to me and helped us to overcome a crisis that only interested those who want to weaken Brazil," Bolsonaro said in a statement. message posted on his Twitter account.

This statement was made after a week of harsh criticism against the president of those who thought they had reacted late to forest fires that devoured much of the Amazon rainforest for weeks.

Critics of Bolsonaro – including Germany, France, Ireland and the European Commission – and their counterattacks against several world leaders undermine the ratification of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU. European Union (EU).

We support the EU-Mercosur agreement, which also involves climate protection, but it is difficult to imagine a harmonious ratification by the European countries while the Brazilian president authorizes the destruction of the green spaces of the planet " , warned the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the day before yesterday, before the start of the summit of the Group of 7 (G7) in Biarritz, France.

Bolsonaro replied yesterday that he was looking "from the very beginning" for dialogue with G7 leaders, as well as with those of Chile and Spain, because "Brazil is a country that recovers its credibility and trade with virtually everyone "and the world's largest democracies, committed to the protection of the environment".

At the same time, the state of Amazonas, in the north of the country, formalized its request yesterday for the armed forces to intervene in the fight against fires. Seven of the nine Amazon states have already officially requested military aid.

The other six states concerned are Acre, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins.

Bolsonaro signed a decree on Friday authorizing the use of armed forces in the Amazon region until 24 September. The Ministry of Defense announced that it would deploy 44,000 soldiers in the fight against fires, for which it allocated a budget equivalent to about 9.6 million dollars.

"This sum, 2.6 million euros higher than originally planned, will be used to cover the expenses incurred by the armed forces during the first month of work," the Defense said.

The military forces started their work two hours ago with exploration flights in some of the most devastated areas by fires and the use of some Hercules C-130 aircraft to combat the fires.

The air force explained that each of these planes was carrying five water tanks with a total capacity of 12,000 liters, the EFE news agency reported. In addition, about 30 firefighters of the force of national security specializing in the fight against forest fires They embarked yesterday in Porto Belho, the capital of Rondonia, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. According to official data, only 5,000 fire sources have been recorded so far in the state of Amazonas, bordering Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

Local authorities have warned that dense smoke, which contains toxic components, has resulted in an increase in hospital care of up to 30% in some cities.

In Acre, which is in a state of emergency, the fire department received in 24 hours at least 88 calls informing about environmental fires in urban areas in the state capital, Rio Branco.

Argentine firemen

For its part, the national system of voluntary fire prevention is "yellow alert" for fires in the Amazon and "360 firemen" were made available, of which 20 provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fe will visit this region this week from Brazil, said Gustavo Nicola, head of the Unique Coordination Operation (CUO) Volunteer Firefighters.

"The entire national system of fight against volunteers is on yellow alert and we put 360 firefighters at the disposal of the rescue during the fires in the Amazon, among which 12 firefighters of Córdoba and eight of Santa Fe have already been summoned "said Nicola to Telam.

The chief pointed out that the relief request came from the Department of Civil Protection of the Ministry of National Security in each province and that "minute by minute" the list of volunteer firefighters to collaborate in Brazil "lengthens".

"They are volunteer firefighters from all over the country, mainly from the provinces of Córdoba, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, Mendoza and Tucumán, we receive minute by minute the name of more firefighters available, I think we will exceed 400", he declared. However, the Ministry of National Security has only requested the collaboration of 20 brigades during this first stage.