With Bolsonaro, no dialogue between Brazil and Europe would be useful, unfortunately.
ENVIRONMENT
With lies, Bolsonaro says Brazil is the target of a disinformation campaign
Hanrrikson de Andrade
From UOL, in Brasília
09/22/2020 11h11
Updated on 22/09/2020 18h11
In a speech with lies and inaccurate data, President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party) affirmed today at the UN General Assembly (United Nations) that Brazil is the victim of "one of the most brutal disinformation campaigns on the Amazon and the Pantanal".
In the opening speech of the event, which lasted 14 minutes and was made by videoconference, Bolsonaro raised the amount of emergency aid to US $ 1,000 to 65 million Brazilians and said that Indians and Caboclos are responsible for fires in the Amazon. He also said that the fires in the Pantanal happen due to the high temperatures in the region and blamed Venezuela for the appearance of spots on the coast of 11 states last year.
Bolsonaro calls for combating 'Christophobia' and praises Trump in UN speech
For the president, there is a "campaign supported by shady interests" by "international institutions" with "Brazilian associations, profiteers and impatriotics". The objective, according to him, is to harm his government. UOL's investigation, however, showed lies and inaccurate data in the speech itself.
We are victims of one of the most brutal disinformation campaigns on the Amazon and the Pantanal. The Brazilian Amazon is known to be very rich. This explains the support of international institutions for this campaign supported by shady interests that join Brazilian associations, profiteering and impartial, with the objective of harming the government and Brazil itself.
Bolsonaro did not directly mention the names of any organization or countries that would be behind this articulation, but sought to reinforce his government's narrative that the Amazon would be the target of international greed.
He said, on the subject, that his government is a leader in the conservation of tropical forests and that it has a zero tolerance policy towards environmental crime. Both information was classified as false by Agência Lupa, which also evaluated the content of the speech.
Bolsonaro repeats strategy
The strategy has been adopted by the Planalto Palace in an attempt to reject criticisms of environmental management due to deforestation in the Amazon and the fires that are devastating the Pantanal.
Data from the Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente, which coordinates the Imazon Deforestation Alert System, show that deforestation in the Amazon rose 68% in August 2020, compared to the same period last year.
The Pantanal, in turn, set a historical record of fires for the entire month of September in the first half of the year. There were more than 5,600 fires, almost three times above the average for the month.
It is the second time that the Brazilian president speaks at a UN General Assembly under strong international pressure because of the advance of deforestation and environmental issues. Last year, Bolsonaro classified the idea that the forest is a patrimony of humanity as "fallacy".
Without evidence, Bolsonaro blames caboclo and Indian
Today, the Brazilian president said, without going into technical details, that the fires in the Amazon occur "practically in the same places" and attributed part of this responsibility to the "caboclo and the Indian", who would habitually burn "their gardens in search of survival. ".
Our forest is humid and does not allow the spread of fire inside. The fires occur practically, in the same places, in the eastern surroundings of the forest, where the caboclo and the Indian burn their gardens in search of their survival, in areas already deforested.
Contrary to what the president said, there is no evidence that the fires in the Amazon have happened on the initiative of caboclos and indigenous people. The president's statement, therefore, is false.
In September this year, researchers from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) and the University of Stockholm published a letter in the journal Science in which they affirm that a good part of the fires and deforestation in the Amazon, between 2019 and 2020, it is related to "large-scale appropriation and deforestation" carried out by medium and large farmers.
Dismantling of environmental policy
At the UN, the president also said that his policy is "zero tolerance" for environmental crime and that criminal outbreaks are combated rigorously.
Criminal outbreaks are combated with rigor and determination. I maintain my policy of zero tolerance for environmental crime. Together with the National Congress, we seek land regularization, aiming to identify the perpetrators of these crimes. "
Contrary to what the president said, in his government there was a dismantling of the environmental policy and of organs that traditionally act in the inspection of environmental crimes, such as Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).
Despite the increase in deforestation in the country, the sanctions imposed by Ibama fell 60% in one year.
In addition, according to the MPF (Federal Public Ministry), Environment Minister Ricardo Salles interfered in Ibama's inspection structures after Bolsonaro put pressure on his team due to the destruction of machinery used by land grabbers in the Amazon.
Evidence points to arson in the Pantanal
Regarding the burning in the Pantanal, Bolsonaro compared the Brazilian situation with that of the United States.
“Our Pantanal, with an area larger than many European countries, as well as California, suffers from the same problems. The big fires are inevitable consequences of the high local temperature, added to the accumulation of decomposing organic mass."
The Federal Police, however, suspects criminal action in the fires. The corporation launched an operation to determine the responsibility for the fires in the region.
In the private reserve of the Sesc Pantanal Natural Heritage, in the region of Barão do Melgaço, in Mato Grosso, experts pointed out that the fire occurred due to the intentional burning of deforested vegetation to create pasture areas for cattle.
Original in Portuguese:
Source:
https://noticias.uol.com.br/meio-am...sinformacao-sobre-queimadas-diz-bolsonaro.htm
See also:
https://g1.globo.com/politica/notic...scurso-na-abertura-da-assembleia-da-onu.ghtml
Bolsonaro says at the UN that Brazil is the 'victim' of a 'brutal disinformation campaign' over the Amazon and Pantanal
President also stated that the Amazon forest does not catch fire in the interior, only at the edges, because it is humid. According to him, the ones who set fire to the surroundings are the 'Indian' and the 'Caboclo'.
By Fernanda Calgaro, Pedro Henrique Gomes and Guilherme Mazui, G1 - Brasília
09/22/2020 10h41 Updated 4 hours ago
Bolsonaro defends the Brazilian government's policy regarding the pandemic and the environment
President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday (22), in a speech at the United Nations (UN) Assembly , that Brazil is "the victim" of a "brutal" campaign of disinformation about the Amazon and the Pantanal.
The speech was presented through a recorded video. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic , the UN meeting this year, based at the organization's headquarters in New York, was virtual.
The president also said that:
- The Amazon rainforest is humid and only catches fire at the edges
- Those responsible for the fires are the 'Indian' and the 'Caboclo'
- The oil spilled on the Brazilian coast in 2019 is Venezuelan, was sold without control and reached the coast after a 'criminal' spill
- Guidelines for people to stay home in the pandemic 'almost' led the country to 'social chaos '
- Brazil is a Christian and conservative country, and 'Christophobia' must be combated
Bolsonaro said that Brazil has the "best legislation" on the environment worldwide and that the country respects nature conservation rules.
For him, the wealth of the Amazon motivates the criticism that the country suffers in the environmental area. The president stated that Brazilian and "impatriotic" entities join international institutions to harm the country.
"We are victims of one of the most brutal campaigns of disinformation about the Amazon and the Pantanal. The Brazilian Amazon is known to be very rich. This explains the support of international institutions for this campaign supported by shady interests that join Brazilian associations, profiteers and impatriotics, with the objective of harming the government and Brazil itself ", said Bolsonaro in the video.
Bolsonaro: 'Our forest is humid and does not allow the spread of fire inside'
The Brazilian government's environmental management is one of the main reasons for criticism that the country receives from the international community. Since last year, entities, countries and personalities have challenged Brazil's policies for the environment. European countries point to deforestation in the country as an obstacle to confirmation of the Mercosur-European Union trade agreement.
Bolsonaro's speech was delivered in the context of intense fires that have plagued the Pantanal in recent weeks. In September, the biome had the historical record of fires for the month. In the Amazon, the main target of concern for the international community, deforestation alerts rose 34% from August 2019 to July 2020 , according to the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).
In his speech, Bolsonaro said that the Amazon rainforest is humid. Therefore, according to him, the fire does not spread through the interior of the forest. According to the president, the fires occur only on the edges of the Amazon and are carried out by the "Indian" and the "Caboclo".
"Our forest is humid and does not allow the spread of fire inside. The fires happen in practically the same places, in the eastern surroundings of the forest, where the caboclo and the Indian burn their fields in search of their survival, in areas already deforested. Criminal outbreaks are combated with rigor and determination ", continued the president.
About the Pantanal, Bolsonaro said that the causes of the fires are the high temperatures in the region and the concentration of organic matter in the soil.
"Our Pantanal, with an area larger than many European countries, as well as California, suffers from the same problems. The great fires are inevitable consequences of the highlocal temperature , added to the accumulation of decomposing organic mass", argued the president.
Bolsonaro also said that he maintains a "zero tolerance attitude towards environmental crime".
He repeated, as government officials have done, that the fact that Brazil is a power in agribusiness motivates distorted information about the country's environment.
"Brazil is emerging as the world's largest food producer. Therefore, there is so much interest in spreading misinformation about our environment," he argued.
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2018/o/s/aubBAURqyUaTHrPVRgqA/selo-nao-e-bem-assim-1-.jpg)
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2019/r/9/6hxHgFTPOZ77Wa0GjV3w/selo-fato-1-.jpg)
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2020/e/b/ImkcwXR0KMZarxAHzZIw/header-materia-fato-ou-fake.jpg)