Brazil minister advises using COVID-19 to distract from Amazon deregulation

[Judi Lynn]

by Jenny Gonzales on 26 May 2020

The video of a controversial meeting between a foul-mouthed Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his cabinet has yielded a second intense controversy, this one instigated by Minister of the Environment Ricardo Salles.

During the meeting Salles suggests that the government “run the cattle herd” through the Amazon, “changing all the rules and simplifying standards.” He seemed to indicate that now — with the public and press focused on the COVID-19 pandemic — would be a good time to make a “load” of changes, weakening environmental rules dealing with agribusiness.

Global outrage at Salles remarks were swift, including among European Union parliamentarians. German MEP Anna Cavazzini, spokeswoman for the European Greens trade policy, said that Salles’ statements are “the inconceivably blatant confirmation that the Bolsonaro government is dismantling, step-by-step, the protection regulations of the Amazon, while the world fights the Coronavirus.”

Cavazzini asserted that, as a result of Salles remarks and Brazil’s disregard for the rule of law, that the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) should not be ratified. The Mercursor agreement, which involves several South American nations including Brazil, if signed, would be the biggest trade treaty in the world, and would also hugely benefit Brazil’s struggling economy.

More:
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/brazil-minister-advises-using-covid-19-to-distract-from-amazon-deregulation/