Under fire, Brazil’s Environment Minister denies “encouraging” deforestation

During April, with all of Brazilian states imposing varying degrees of social isolation measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, deforestation in the Amazon reached its highest level in ten years. Over 30 days, an area equivalent to five times the size of Paris was cut down, a 171-percent increase on April 2019 figures. The culprits are illegal land-grabbers, loggers, wildcat miners, and farmers, who have made use of the Covid-19 quarantines to ramp up their operations in the Amazon rainforest. According to environmentalists, blame for these crimes can be placed at the doorstep of Brazil’s Environment Ministry, led by embattled cabinet minister Ricardo Salles.

Cheering from the sidelines

The accusation is that Mr. Salles, along with the rest of the Jair Bolsonaro government, has encouraged deforestation in the Amazon Basin by way of its consistent promotion of “economic development” throughout the region, as well as pushing to legalize activities such as farming and mining on protected lands.

Speaking to The Brazilian Report, Mr. Salles echoed this message, saying that the increase in deforestation was down to “the lack of economic opportunities in sustainable activities” for people in the Amazon.

However, when asked whether the government’s stance has empowered those who cut down Brazil’s forests, the Environment Minister was curt in his response. “We haven’t encouraged...