Amazon: Brazil snubs G7 aid and says fires are "under control"

Brazil, pursuing its anti-Macron rhetoric, opposed the end of the night of Monday to Tuesday a denial of emergency aid proposed by the G7 countries, and said that the fires in the Amazon, which have still progressed at the beginning of the week, were "under control".

Onyx Lorenzoni, the chief of staff of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (holding a position equivalent to that of a head of government), has formalized the rejection of aid by Brasilia by launching on the site G1: "We thank (the G7 for its offer of help, ed), but these means may be more relevant for the reforestation of Europe.

"Macron can not even avoid a predictable fire in a church that is part of the world's heritage, and he wants to teach us lessons for our country? ", Also launched Mr. Lorenzoni in an allusion to the fire that affected Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15th.

While begging the French president to take care of his "colonies", in line with previous attacks by President Bolsonaro against his counterpart.

The right-wing leader had started rejecting the aid by tweeting: "We can not accept that a president, Macron, launch loose and gratuitous attacks on the Amazon, or disguise his intentions behind the idea of ​​a + + G7 country alliance to + save + the Amazon, as if it were a colony ".

"Respect for the sovereignty of any country is the minimum that can be expected in a civilized world," he added, after several days of heated exchanges between the two leaders.

The seven most industrialized countries, meeting in Biarritz, in the south-west of France, promised to urgently release $ 20 million to send additional air bombers. The G7 has agreed to an aid plan "at least $ 30 million", then said Macron, intended for reforestation, at the UN, which must be finalized during the the UN General Assembly at the end of September.

– Situation "a little exaggerated" –

On Sunday, Macron also deplored the "extraordinarily disrespectful" remarks of the Brazilian head of state against his wife Brigitte, saying he hoped "very quickly" that the Brazilians "will have a president who behaves at the height ".

On the eve of the G7, Macron accused Bolsonaro of "lying" about his ecological commitments and announced that France was now opposed to the controversial free trade agreement between the EU. and Mercosur, a group of South American countries, including Brazil.

What about fires? On Monday, the Brazilian Defense Minister said the fires in Amazonia were "under control" after the deployment of more than 2,500 troops and reported rains in several of the affected areas.

The situation "has been a little exaggerated," Fernando Azevedo e Silva added, who told reporters after a meeting with Jair Bolsonaro that Brazil had experienced some years of "much more serious fire peaks". .

Some 1,133 new fire starts were recorded Sunday in Brazil by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). In total, nearly 80,000 forest fires have been recorded in Brazil since the beginning of the year – the highest since 2013 – more than half of them in the Amazon.

In the state of Rondônia (north-west), bordering Bolivia, the city of Porto Velho remained covered with large clouds of smoke Monday, despite the mobilization since Sunday by the army of two aircraft C-130 Hercules.

At Cosme e Damião Children's Hospital, several families are waiting to see a doctor. In this city of half a million inhabitants, pathologies range from dry cough to eye irritation, through respiratory disorders or fevers that can degenerate into pneumonia.

"The smoke can be very aggressive. The most affected are the children and the elderly, "says Sergio Pereira, the director of this establishment who has seen his attendance increase.

– "Fire Day" –

In addition to air force equipment, dozens of firefighters have been dispatched to fight against the progression of the flames. Brazil has also accepted help from Israel, which has offered to send a plane.

So far, seven states, including Rondônia, have appealed to the army, including 43,000 soldiers based in the Amazon. But the number of soldiers actually deployed on the ground and their mode of intervention remained unclear.

Personnel and tanker aircraft from Chile and Ecuador were due to come into action soon, according to Brazil's defense minister. Israel must send "100 tons of fire-fighting material," a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Brasilia told AFP.

Jair Bolsonaro, under intense international pressure, has ordered an investigation into rural producers in the state of Para (north) accused of organizing a "fire day" on August 10 in support of the far-right president's efforts to weaken the monitoring of environmental protection.

A majority of Brazilians (53.7%) disapprove of the policy led by Jair Bolsonaro, which recorded a sharp decline in popularity during the past six months, according to a poll released Monday.

The Amazon, 60% of whose surface is in Brazil, also extends to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela.

LNT with Afp