Good morning! Brazil’s Infrastructure Minister defended oil-drilling in the Amazon rainforest. Lula comes back to the center stage of political discussions. The Senate must now analyze and vote on the pension reform. A rollercoaster ride for the Brazilian currency.
Drilling oil from the rainforest?
Brazil’s Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio de Freitas defended oil-drilling activities in the mouth of the Amazon River. Mr. Freitas criticized what he called an “ideologization” of debates around environmental issues, and called for a more “technical, rational” approach. “We are sitting on an immense wealth, waiting for [it to be replaced by another energy source]. The stone age did not end for a lack of stones, just as the age of oil won’t be over for a lack of it. Everyone’s exploring. What are we waiting for?”
Why it matters. Ocean currents are too strong along the coast of Amapá, making operations harder and riskier. “Not by accident, none of the 95 attempts to get oil from there since the 1970s were successful,” said Greenpeace’s Thiago Almeida. In 2011, a Petrobras oil rig in the area went adrift. In December 2018, Brazil’s environmental agency denied French oil company Total a permit to explore the region, due to...