Brazil's Bolsonaro hands indigenous land decisions back to farm sector

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS JUNE 19, 2019 / 7:25 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Brazil's Bolsonaro hands indigenous land decisions back to farm sector

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro issued a new decree on Wednesday putting decisions on indigenous land claims in the hands of the Ministry of Agriculture, four weeks after Congress rebuffed him on the move that is sought by Brazil’s farm lobby.

The temporary decree once again removes decisions on the demarcation of reservation lands from the National Indigenous Affairs agency Funai and restores them to a ministry that is run by farming interests.

The decree goes into effect immediately but requires the approval of Congress within 120 days. If Congress does not pass it before then, it expires.

Bolsonaro, a former Army captain elected last year on a wave of conservative voter sentiment, has alarmed anthropologists and environmentalists by planning to assimilate Brazil’s 800,000 indigenous people into Brazilian society.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-indigenous/brazils-bolsonaro-hands-indigenous-land-decisions-back-to-farm-sector-idUSKCN1TK37O

[Judi Lynn]

1. OMG. Felt sure he was going to do it whe he put a friend at the head of Agriculture.

From last October:

Brazil's far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro will merge the environment and agriculture ministries, an adviser confirmed Tuesday, a move activists have warned could imperil the Amazon rainforest.

“Agriculture and environment will be in the same ministry," lawmaker Onyx Lorenzoni, Bolsonaro's likely chief of staff, told journalists after the president-elect huddled with his top advisers to begin forming his new government just two days after his election.

Bolsonaro, who is backed by Brazil's powerful agro-industrial lobby, had already floated the idea in the past, saying, "Let's be clear: the future ministry will come from the productive sector."

Environmentalists have criticised the idea, saying that the work of the environment ministry will be mitigated by business interests.

A former environment minister, Marina Silva, called the decision “disastrous” and said that it would promote deforestation.

https://www.france24.com/en/20181031-brazil-bolsonaro-amazon-environment-agriculture-ministries

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Jair Bolsonaro launches assault on Amazon rainforest protections

Executive order transfers regulation and creation of indigenous reserves to agriculture ministry controlled by agribusiness lobby

Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro

Wed 2 Jan 2019 12.33 EST

Hours after taking office, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched an assault on environmental and Amazon protections with an executive order transferring the regulation and creation of new indigenous reserves to the agriculture ministry – which is controlled by the powerful agribusiness lobby.

The move sparked outcry from indigenous leaders, who said it threatened their reserves, which make up about 13% of Brazilian territory, and marked a symbolic concession to farming interests at a time when deforestation is rising again.

“There will be an increase in deforestation and violence against indigenous people,” said Dinaman Tuxá, the executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous People of Brazil (Apib). “Indigenous people are defenders and protectors of the environment.”

Sonia Guajajara, an indigenous leader who stood as vice-presidential candidate for the Socialism and Freedom party (PSOL) tweeted her opposition. “The dismantling has already begun,” she posted on Tuesday.

. . .

Separately, the incoming health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, suggested on Wednesday that there would be spending cuts on healthcare for indigenous people. “We have figures for the general public that are much below what is spent on healthcare for the indigenous,” he said, without providing details.

During last year’s election campaign, Bolsonaro promised to end demarcation of new indigenous lands, reduce the power of environmental agencies and free up mining and commercial farming on indigenous reserves. His measure also gave the agriculture ministry power over new quilombos – rural settlements inhabited by descendants of former slaves.

After she was sworn in on Wednesday, the new agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina Dias, defended the farm sector from accusations it has grown at the expense of the environment, adding that the strength of Brazil’s farmers had generated “unfounded accusations” from unnamed international groups.

Silas Malafaia, an influential televangelist and close friend of Bolsonaro, said developed countries who centuries ago cut down their own forests should pay if they wanted Brazil to preserve the Amazon.

. . .

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-amazon-rainforest-protections


Bolsonaro is a murderous, greedy racist, just like Trump. It all comes together among fascists. They represent what the human race must leave behind in order to evolve.