Brazil plans to militarize Amazon while ignoring deforestation

In the name of national sovereignty, Brazil’s armed forces have had troops stationed in the Amazon since the Brazilian Empire of the 19th century, when the country was ruled by a constitutional monarchy. Spanning over 5.5 million square meters, the Brazilian Amazon is seen as strategic territory by the military, bordering seven neighboring countries. Today, almost 200 years since Brazil’s last monarch Pedro II sent troops to the region, the Amazon has its largest military contingent in history.

Based in the northern city of Manaus, the Amazon Military Command comprises a regiment of over 17,000 men and women, often receiving reinforcements of up to 3,500 additional troops for certain exercises.

And, if it were up to President Jair Bolsonaro — himself a former Army captain — this contingent will increase further.

Signed by vice president and retired four-star Army general Hamilton Mourão, a plan to militarize the region was submitted to Brazil’s Economy Ministry earlier this month. Referred to by environmentalists as the “Mourão Plan,” it includes proposals “to lay the foundations for the militarization of the Amazon, in order to promote environmental preservation and the sustainable development of the Legal...