Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday authorized the mobilization of the army in the Amazon to fight fires, but said that these fires could "serve as a pretext" for international sanctions.
"Preventive and repressive" actions
By decree, the right-wing president has authorized from Saturday and for a period of one month the governors of the states concerned to use the army for "identification and fight against fires", as well as for "preventive and repressive actions against environmental crimes". In the wake, Donald Trump has proposed to the Brazilian president the help of the United States. "I just spoke to President Jair Bolsonaro and told him that if the United States could help with fires in the Amazon, we were ready to do it!", The US president tweeted.
Just spoke with President @JairBolsonaro of Brazil. Our future Trade prospects are very exciting, and stronger than ever before. I told him the Amazon Rainforest fires, we stand ready to assist!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019On the other side of the Atlantic, on the eve of the G7 Biarritz, in the south-west of France, the largest tropical forest on the planet has become "a priority". President Emmanuel Macron accused Jair Bolsonaro of "lying" about his climate commitments and decided to oppose the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the fires were an "international crisis", before the summit on Saturday and Sunday from which should come "concrete initiatives".
"The fire of our sovereignty"
"Forest fires exist all over the world and this can not be used as a pretext for possible international sanctions," the Brazilian head of state replied in a short televised address in response to growing international pressure to save lives. Amazon, 60% of which is in Brazilian territory.
He also accused on Twitter his French counterpart of wanting to "foment hatred against Brazil by simple vanity". Shortly before, he tweeted: "The most ardent fire is that of our sovereignty over the Amazon".