Brazil: Forest fires in Amazonia turn into international crisis

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A view of the Amazon rainforest burning on August 17, 2019, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. REUTERS / Ueslei Marcelino

Forest fires in the Amazon have become an international crisis, with the UN and the French head of state strongly calling on Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has strongly opposed Emmanuel Macron.

Jair Bolsonaro did not go dead against Emmanuel Macron he accused of having a " colonialist mentality " after he made an appointment to the G7 members to " talk about the urgency " of fires in the Amazon in Biarritz this weekend.

In two successive tweets , Bolsonaro accused Macron of " exploiting an internal issue in Brazil and other Amazonian countries " with " a sensational tone that does nothing to solve the problem ."

- Lamento o o presidente Macron busque instrumentalizar uma questão interna do Brasil e de outros países amazônicos p / ganhos políticos pessoais. O sensacionalista com tom that refers to Amazônia (apelando até p / fotos falsas) não contribui em nada para a solução do problema.

" The Brazilian government remains open to dialogue, based on objective facts and mutual respect ," wrote the far-right president. " The French president's suggestion that the Amazonian affairs are discussed in the G7 without the participation of the region evokes a colonialist mentality outdated in the twenty-first century, " he added.

Macron and the UN worry about the situation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has launched a salvo of calls to save the Amazon by saying on Twitter " deeply concerned " by the fires in the world's largest rainforest, 60% of which is in the country. Brazilian. " In the midst of the global climate crisis, we can not accept more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity, " writes Antonio Guterres, claiming that the Amazon is " protected ".

Shortly after, it was the French president who expressed his concern, also with a tweet , unfortunately illustrated with an image taken by a photographer who died in 2003, like many other tweets . " Our house burns. Literally. The Amazon, the lung of our planet that produces 20% of our oxygen, is on fire. It's an international crisis. G-7 members, see you in two days to talk about this emergency . "

Planned events

Events are planned for the Amazon this Friday, August 23, in Sao Paulo and Rio. The movement of young Swedish Greta Thunberg , the face of the fight against global warming, "Fridays for Future", has called to protest in front of embassies and consulates of Brazil around the world.

While the advance of fires in the world's largest rainforest was very difficult to assess, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported nearly 2,500 new fire starts in 48 hours throughout Brazil. Deforestation, which is advancing rapidly, is the main cause of fire starts.

At 3,000 km from the Amazon, in Sao Paulo, we feel the effects of these forest fires reports our correspondent on the spot , Martin Bernard . Monday, August 18 for example, around 15h the sky darkened as if the night had fallen. It was big black clouds that plunged the city into darkness. Clouds laden with particles from fires in the Amazon rainforest.

São ust ust ust little,,,,,,,,,,,,,, São São São São,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. Imagine how much has to be burned to create that much smoke (!). SOS🌎 pic.twitter.com/P1DrCzQO6x

Bolsonaro convenes crisis meeting

Bolsonaro recently accused NGOs of being behind these forest fires. Words that raised indignation in the camp of environmentalists. The government is still trying to respond to the ecological disaster. After saying that the government could do little to contain the flames, Jair Bolsonaro convened a crisis meeting to try to coordinate the actions on the ground.

The members of the government keep a very offensive tone, like Onyx Lorenzoni, who occupies a position equivalent to that of Prime Minister. " If I go to the field? No, I will go to see more important things, like the operation mounted to welcome Venezuelan refugees , "he said.

Onyx Lorenzoni accuses Europe of spreading false information and wanting to use fires as a pretext to limit Brazilian agricultural exports. According to him, Europeans use the environment as a weapon of commercial policy

( with agencies )