Seven Of Nine Brazilian Amazon Governors Just Can't Wait To Speed Up Mining, Deforestation

[hatrack]

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Rondônia Governor Marcos Rocha briefly addressed the Amazon blazes: “It is not the farmers who are burning our Amazon,” he stated, offering no evidence to back his claim. Then, like Bolsonaro, he switched subjects: “I went to the Roosevelt Indian Reserve with [Environment Minister Ricardo] Salles and we talked with the Indians. They want to work because those places have the greatest riches in Brazil. Diamonds, niobium, gold, cassiterite and so many other ores. It is possible to use those resources sustainably in a manner that preserves the environment and at the same time enrich our people,” he asserted. While some indigenous people do approve of mining or agribusiness on their lands, there is no evidence that Rocha’s is a majority view, though this is a storyline pushed hard by the administration.

Opening the rainforest to mining companies is also part of the plans for Amazonas state. According to The Intercept website, last June governor Wilson Lima began negotiations with The InterAmerica Group, a Washington DC-based lobbying company, to attract US mining and agribusiness companies to the state.

Mato Grosso Governor Mauro Mendes spoke about the fires and on behalf of agribusiness expansion: “Brazil’s image is extremely important to our relations with most of our clients [in the] outside world. Sixty percent of the state’s GDP comes from exports. So when we have a problem [like the one] that happened a few days ago [with the Amazon fires] and took undesirable [international criticism], I got very worried.” He added: “There are 43 indigenous ethnic groups in the state. Next October we will have a seminar on mechanized agriculture on indigenous lands, and we already have 24 groups interested. That is because they want to have their dignity through their work, by exploring their lands.”

Bolsonaro reassured the governor, saying, that Brazil can “include the Indian in our society; to a great extent he already wants that. We want to legitimize illegal mining [as well]. This [plan] is moving forward in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and we soon intend to present a proposal to Congress, as there are very rich lands underfoot in the Amazon.”

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https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/state-governors-support-bolsonaros-amazon-mining-agribusiness-plans/

[CrispyQ]

1. When you only look one quarter ahead, everything looks like a commodity to profit from. -nt