Why an environmental disaster in the Amazon | …

While President Jair Bolsonaro blamed environmentalists for the worst forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon in recent years, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles repeated a loose explanation of articles referring to the dry climate of the time, the media the communication repeated the images of the chain disaster. Few could (or wanted to) immerse themselves in Brazil's "home affairs": the critical state of environmental public organizations (and their deforestation figures); the policies implemented by the last ministers of the environment; or the fate of the indigenous tribes on the territory are just some of the elements that are often out of the question.

All environmental experts agree that uncontrolled deforestation is the main cause of fires in the Amazon. Unfortunate despite Bolsonaro, this practice marked in July a historical increase of 278% over the same month in 2018, according to figures from the National Institute of Space Research (INPE). The system used by the institute, recognized by scientists and accessible to the public, has been questioned several times by the president, going as far as the extreme dismissal of the director of the entity for having considered that he had acted "in the service of an NGO": the outgoing President Ricardo Galvão was temporarily replaced by an air force officer. As if that were not enough, Bolsonaro demanded that official data first pbad through his hands before being disclosed. A kind of secret censorship.

From London, the BA in International Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid and the Environmental Specialist, Teresa Romero, explain in the dialogue with Page I12Galvão is not even the first member of an environmental agency to be fired or attacked by the current government. "We have the case of José Augusto Morelli, former head of air operations of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment (IBAMA) and the team that fined Bolsonaro in 2012 for fishing illegally in an ecological reserve, "he said. He also cites the case of his successor at the institute since 2016, Suely Araújo, "who resigned in early 2019 due to a series of unfounded attacks against the agency" .

For Fabrina Furtado, Associate Professor in the Department of Development, Agriculture and Society of the Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, the (de) management of the central government is part of a larger plan. vast: "Their program consists of a real hatred of the production and diffusion of critical thought. The government is surrounded by its people, its friends, its military and its businessmen, all those who do not oppose their orders, "he said..

Brief history of environmental policy in Brazil

During the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985), environmental policy was broadly viewed as an obstacle to economic progress. It was not until 1992 that Brazil managed to host the first UN conference on the environment. Since then, with ups and downs, he has been able to develop and maintain a policy based on various legal guidelines allowing him to become a leading country in terms of climate policy, until the coming to power of Bolsonaro .

Under the mandate of Lula da Silva (2003-2011), the issue of the environment seemed to be revitalized more rarely. With Marina Silva in charge of the ministry, reducing deforestation levels was a sign that they could grow and, at the same time, protect the environment and indigenous peoples. The Terra Legal program, introduced by Lula in 2009, aimed to regulate and award land titles to small producers and local communities. Eight years later, former President Michel Temer was doing his best to significantly change the agreement, through the MP 759 program, which offered many legal loopholes that benefited land usurpers.

Under the administration of Temer (currently held for the cause of Lava Jato), the Brazilian Army was responsible for asphalting the BR-163 road in 2017. "This road was known as from "The Blairo Maggi Road", in honor of the largest Brazilian soybean planter. The road has allowed the flow of Mato Grosso production to flow to the Amazon River. In 2005, Greenpeace awarded Maggi the "Chainsaw" award as the largest hills clearer and was awarded by Temer from the Ministry of Agriculture, "Furtado told the newspaper..

Before Temer's controversial hypothesis, Dilma Rousseff, weakened, did what she could, under pressure from different sectors. In May 2012, the new Forest Code was sanctioned, which pardoned anyone who had "committed offenses related to the irregular removal of vegetation in areas of permanent preservation, legal reserve or limited use". Rousseff (2011-2016) managed to veto some chapters of the new code, but nothing could be done to prevent the entry into force of the law, besieged by the rural bench and the big business lobby.

Nearly eight months in power, Bolsonaro seems determined to defend Brazil's role as an agricultural exporting power, without dwelling on its consequences. "Brazil has a past where the incestuous relationship between politicians and business was still present," said Furtado of Rio de Janeiro. The profile of two of her cabinet's most important ministers is not accidental: Tereza Cristina is a former lobbyist in the agri-food industry; Ricardo Salles, meanwhile, is currently the subject of a judicial investigation in connection with a case of illegal alteration of a protected area.

The anti-indigenist story of Bolsonaro

The "legalization" of mining (which implies allowing the entry of private persons on ancestral territories) or the construction of hydroelectric plants is one of the most serious threats suffered by Aboriginal communities. "We can not forget the 400 indigenous tribes that inhabit the Amazon, the vast majority of the Brazilian part. Deforestation ends their homes and condemns them to food and physical insecurity, "said Romero. The researcher speaks of an "anti-indigenist government speech, which generates an impression of impunity" about those who carry out illegal logging, mining and mining activities. 39; breeding.

Like the killing of trees, killings of settlers in the Amazon do not stop. The last resounding case is that of Chief Emyra Waiapi, whose body was found dead on July 23 on the outskirts of the city of Mariry, in the Brazilian state of Amapá. The police and law enforcement agencies tried to file the case, knowing that there were not enough elements to establish that it was safe. was acting a murder. "Despite the official results of the autopsy, everything indicates that he was killed. Unfortunately, this news is not new in the country where more and more conservationists are killed every year. Just days after the death of the chief, the reserve was invaded by illegal and armed miners. It only remains to close, "warns Romero.

Report: Guido Vbadallo.