Environment Minister is really “running the cattle herd” through Amazon

Since taking charge in January 2019, Brazil’s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles has been repeatedly accused of loosening environmental protections in the Amazon to clear a path for land-grabbers and other private interests. Despite vehemently denying these claims in public and in an interview with The Brazilian Report, footage of an April 22 cabinet meeting showed Mr. Salles make a brazen defense of this exploratory stance toward Brazil’s Amazon.

Unaware that the contents of the meeting would eventually be made public, the Environment Minister spoke of taking advantage of the press’ undivided attention on the Covid-19 pandemic to “run the cattle herd” through the Amazon, “changing all of the rules and simplifying standards.”

“We have an opportunity (…) to pass infralegal reforms of deregulation. (…) With the environment, it’s very difficult to pass any infralegal changes, because it goes straight to the courts the next day. So we need to make an effort here, while we are in this moment of tranquility with regard to the press, which is only talking about Covid-19.”

The “infralegal” alterations in question are those which do not require approval from Congress and can be made by way of simple decrees and ordinances. However,...