Bolsonaro sows confusion over aid to the Amazon

(Porto Velho) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro again fueled the controversy on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, sowing confusion over international aid that Brazil would be willing to receive to fight fires in the Amazon.

Jordi MIRO with Pascale TROUILLAUD in Rio de Janeiro
France Media Agency

He also accused "Germany, and particularly France, of buying Brazilian sovereignty" with the G7's offer of help against the fires raging in the country's largest rainforest. world.

These fires are far from being "under control", contrary to what the government asserts for several days: 1044 new fire starts were found Tuesday throughout Brazil, including more than 50% in the Amazon, said Wednesday. National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

The number of forest fires since January in the country (83,329), is the highest since 2010, according to the INPE. They are often caused by farmers or cattle ranchers who want more land, and that the current government's policy encourages.

After receiving Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, invited to Biarritz (France) on the sidelines of the G7 last weekend, Jair Bolsonaro, who has still not visited the Amazon, made belligerent statements and created confusion.

It was unclear whether Brazil, which rejected G7 financial support on Tuesday morning waiting for Macron to "withdraw his insults" against Bolsonaro, and then accepted it on Tuesday night under certain conditions, did so again. rejected Wednesday morning.

Mr. Macron "called me a liar and twice said that the (Brazilian) sovereignty of the Amazon should be relativised," Jair Bolsonaro told reporters. "We can talk to each other when he retracts after what he said against me. "

The dramatic fires in the Amazon have caused a diplomatic crisis between Brasilia and Paris, which threatens not to sign the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement and it seems completely futile to wait for any "retraction".

Macron last week accused Bolsonaro of "lying" about his environmental commitments. France was heavily attacked by the Brazilian government, and Bolsonaro called Macron a "colonialist" before attacking his wife Brigitte.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro withdrew an offensive comment for M^me Macron posted on Facebook to "avoid misinterpretation," said the spokesman of the Brazilian president.

"Brazil is not for sale"

To the chagrin of Brasilia, Emmanuel Macron had also wondered about the advisability of conferring an international status on the Amazon rainforest, in case the leaders of the region take harmful decisions for the planet.

"It is important to repeat that the Brazilian Amazon is under Brazilian sovereignty," said Bolsonaro, whose country is home to 60% of the gigantic rainforest.

"Brazil is not for sale for 20 million dollars, nor 20 billion," he continued, referring to "the size of (…) the eighth largest economy in the world."

He added, however, that "Brazil can accept any bilateral aid".

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Wednesday lent his support to Brazil: "It must be remembered that some years there have been much worse fires," he said, quoting Jair Bolsonaro.

"We all love the Amazon, the nine countries (which shelter it) exercise their sovereignty," said Pinera. He announced the dispatch of four planes from Chile, which will be added to the fifteen or so aircraft that Brazil has deployed since last weekend, with 2,500 soldiers.

Brazil accepted a proposal from Peru and Colombia for a regional summit on 6 September in a border town of the three countries to coordinate the preservation of the Amazon.

In the state of Rondônia (north-west), one of the most affected by fires, the capital Porto Velho found itself under a smoke cover.

The Brazilian Vice President, General Hamilton Mourao, denounced in a tribune published Wednesday by the daily Estado de S. Paulo under the title "Our Amazon" the "international campaign" against Brazil.

He blasted "those leaders of European countries" who "try to sabotage the historic agreements such as the one signed (end of June) between the European Union and Mercosur", which has yet to be ratified.

Border Bolivia also experienced dramatic fires that led to the suspension of the election campaign.

In addition, several international brands of clothing have threatened to suspend their purchases of Brazilian leather because of the environmental policy conducted by Brazil in the Amazon, a measure that has however "not yet" not materialized according to the professionals in the sector.

"We recently received with great concern a news release informing us of the suspension of leather purchases in Brazil by some of the world's most important importers," writes the Brazilian Tannery Industries Center, quoted by the newspaper Folha de S Paulo.