Good morning! President Jair Bolsonaro is set to refuse EUR 20m from G7 countries, which should be used to put out Amazon fires. Jair Bolsonaro popularity numbers are down. An indictment request against House Speaker Rodrigo Maia. Brazil’s main investment bank loses one-third of its market value. Brazil’s industry continues sluggish. The 2020 budget conundrum. The new Brazilian fighter jet is ready. (This newsletter is for platinum subscribers only. Become one now!)
Who needs the G7?
President Jair Bolsonaro has decided to refuse EUR 20m offered by G7 countries to help put out Amazon fires. The money was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron—who has become Mr. Bolsonaro’s latest foe—and was conditioned to the Brazilian government working side-by-side with NGOs and local populations. The Brazilian government wants to keep any discussion restricted to Amazon countries and accused foreign powers of trying to undermine Brazil’s national sovereignty.
Why it matters. The international outcry sparked by the Amazon fires (which have gone up 84% from last year) is the Bolsonaro administration’s worst crisis so far. Cornered, the president has resorted to a strategy employed by most of his predecessors: theories of an international plot to steal the Amazon. Fanning the flames is...