The tone was offensive. In front of world leaders, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro defended for 30 minutes the sovereignty of Brazil and his first months at the helm of the country.
The far-right president, a notorious climate scientist, has come back to the fires ravaging the Amazon. While Emmanuel Macron made it a priority at the G7 summit in Biarritz last August, Jair Bolsonaro rejected any desire for international intervention. "It is wrong to say that the Amazon belongs to the heritage of humanity, and it is a mistake for scientists to say that our forest is the lungs of the planet," he said before adding that the Amazon was not destroyed by the flames today "as the media would have us believe."
France aimed
Jair Bolsonaro then described as "absurd" the proposals of the French president to protect the Amazon including giving it an "international status".
"One of the countries dared to suggest, at the last meeting of the G7, to apply sanctions to Brazil, without even consulting Brazil," he said, implicitly targeting France. The Brazilian president then thanked "the countries that refused to go ahead on this stupid proposal (...) especially President Donald Trump".
Indeed, following the G7, Brazil had been under strong international pressure, The Brazilian government had then received the support of the United States, Donald Trump having assured him his "support without reservation".
"If we want to have a responsible speech, we can not deny the reality," said Emmanuel Macron, who says he has "never questioned" the sovereignty of Brazil.
"I will never support a leader who questions the scientific facts, the expert reports, who decides to part with his experts when they do not write what they want, that I think is not serious ", he added in response to the Brazilian president's remarks.
Raoni "instrumentalized"
Chief Raoni, chief of the Kayapo tribe and figure of the fight against deforestation in the Amazon has also received a volley of green wood.
While the latter had been received by Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G7 summit, Jair Bolsonaro accused him of being manipulated by the foreigner.
"Very often, some indigenous leaders, like Raoni, are exploited by foreign governments in the information war they are waging to advance their interests in the Amazon," he said, adding, "the Raoni's monopoly on the Amazon is over. "
During his speech in the gallery, about twenty protesters were protesting near the UN in New York, waving a giant doll with his effigy and signs calling him including "liar" and "threat to the Earth".
With AFP