World
Brazil's Bolsonaro causes global outrage over Amazon fires
By Itzhak Rabihiya
Far-right leader who initially dismissed the hundreds of blazes, suggested activists started them to discredit his government, sends soldiers to battle flames after European leaders threaten to end trade deal with Brazil – Ap published today (26/8/2019)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has insulted adversaries and allies, disparaged women, blacks and homosexuals, and even praised his country's 1964-1985 dictatorship. Yet nothing has rallied more anger at home and criticism from abroad than his response to fires raging in parts of the Amazon region.
The far-right populist leader initially dismissed the hundreds of blazes and then questioned whether activist groups might have started the fires in an effort to damage the credibility of his government, which has called for looser environmental regulations in the world's largest rainforest to spur development.
In response, European leaders threatened to end a trade deal with
Bolsonaro finally took a less confrontational approach Friday and announced he would send 44,000 soldiers to help battle the blazes, which mostly seem to be charring land deforested, perhaps illegally, for farming and ranching rather than burning through stands of trees.
Some say it's not enough and comes too late.
"No democratic government has suffered such international criticism as Bolsonaro is going through," said Mauricio Santoro, an international relations professor at
Brazilian military planes began dumping water on fires in the Amazon state of Rondonia over the weekend, and a few hundred of the promised troops deployed into the fire zone. But many Brazilians again took to the streets in
Bolsonaro has previously described rainforest protections as an obstacle to
"The international pressure today has a bigger impact than the demonstrations by Brazilians on the streets," Santoro said.
The leaders of the Group of Seven nations said Sunday that they were preparing a plan for helping
French President Emmanuel Macron said the help would involve both technical and financial mechanisms "so that we can help them in the most effective way possible."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country and others will talk with
"Of course (this is) Brazilian territory, but we have a question here of the rainforests that is really a global question," she said. "The lung of our whole Earth is affected, and so we must find common solutions."
Fires are common during
"We've had eight months without any type of concrete action in defense of the Amazon," said Rómulo Batista, a member of Greenpeace
"The government created a sense of impunity among farmers who were willing to commit illegal acts to deforest," he said. "Thousands of species of plants and animals are being killed, many of them that we don't even know. The population of nearby cities is suffering terrible damage because they're breathing that air and it's causing them respiratory problems. And the rise in deforestation can completely alter the rain patterns by region and devastate agriculture, even in
Bolsonaro has argued with critics who note that the Amazon produces vast amounts of oxygen and is considered crucial for efforts to contain climate change. But Batista predicts the fires will prove a turning point and the pressure by G-7 leaders will shift Bolsonaro's view on the environment.
Brazil's federal police agency announced Sunday that it would investigate reports that farmers in the state of Para, one of those most affected by the blazes, had called for "a day of fire" to ignite fires Aug. 10. Local news media said a group organized the action over WhatsApp to show support for Bolsonaro's efforts to loosen environmental regulations.
Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who oversees the police, said on Twitter that Bolsonaro "asked for a rigorous investigation" and said "the criminal fires will be severely punished." Merkel noted Bolsonaro is putting "significant forces" into the effort to save the rainforest.
But Bolsonaro has had a tense relationship with foreign governments -- including
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