(Newswire.net— January 6, 2019) — Two days after he was inaugurated as President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro drew his first move, and it was the one that everyone was frightened of.
The new president of Brazil has made a decision that opens the door to the industrialization of the Amazon and the crumbling of the largest rainforest in the world, and has also found a way to silence his critics.
Bolsonaro transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture the right to supervise the decision of which land will be granted a protected status. This move by Bolsonaro is interpreted as the victory of a strong lobby of businessmen who have long sought access to protected land for deforestation, agriculture and other projects, according to the CNN.
The Guardian adds that this lobby, which supported Bolsonaro during his turbulent election campaign, is practically controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture.
With this decision, one that raised a huge storm in Brazil and sparked fears of environmental catastrophe, Bolsonaro also included an executive order that allows the Office of Secretary of State military General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Kruz to coordinate and monitor the activities and actions of international organizations and non-governmental organizations in the national territory.
A provisional decree, which could become permanent if ratified in Congress within 120 days, allows Cruz to practically silence NGOs struggling to protect the environment or international green associations such as Greenpeace, for which Bolsonaro said during the campaign that they are “pushing their nose in Brazil”.
The controversial right-winger defended his decision on Twitter, which along with his decisions earned him the nickname of Trump of the Tropics.
“More than 15 percent of the national territory is designated as protected land. Less than one million people live in these places, isolated from real Brazil, exploited and manipulated by NGOs. Together we will integrate these citizens,” Bolsonaro tweeted.
Only three days after he won the second round of presidential elections in Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro announced the construction of a highway through the Amazon because he believes that “too much protected natural areas are detrimental to economic development.”
Amazon, dubbed as the “lungs of the planet”, has a massive rain forest the size of France, two-thirds of which are located in Brazil. It is believed that it is thanks to the Amazon in spite of the heavy pollution that the Earth still has oxygen.
Jair Bolsonaro is a declared right-winger, an opponent of gay marriage, abortion and liberal parties, and has announced that he intend to rule with a “firm hand.”