The Amazon forest, 16 days on fire.

We want to start this blog entry with a viral tweet from WWF: There was worldwide outcry when the Notre Dame cathedral was on fire. Why is there not the same level of outrage for the fires destroying the #AmazonRainforest?

Environmental groups have been campaigning for a long time to save the Amazon, blaming Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, for endangering the vital rainforest. They accuse him of relaxing environmental controls in the country and encouraging deforestation.

Bolsonaro's environmental policies have been controversial since the beginning of his term. Bolsonaro, former Army captain, made campaign promises to restore the economy by exploring the economic potential of the Amazon.

Just a few weeks ago, the INPE director was fired after a dispute with the president; the director defended the satellite data that showed that deforestation was 88% higher in June than the previous year, and Bolsonaro called the findings "lies."

Bolsonaro also criticized the agency's deforestation warnings as harmful to trade negotiations, according to Agencia Brasil news agency.

Bolsonaro's favorable business stance may have emboldened loggers, farmers and miners to take control of a growing area of ​​Amazonian land, said Carlos Rittl, executive secretary of the nonprofit environmental organization Observatorio do Clima (Observatorio of the weather), to CNN in Spanish last month.

Budget cuts and federal interference make it even easier for people to exploit the rainforest. Brazil's environmental compliance agency has had a budget cut of $ 23 million, and official data sent to CNN by the Observatorio do Clima show that the agency's operations have declined since Bolsonaro took office.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro said the recent wave of fires in the Amazon may have been caused by non-governmental organizations to attract international criticism of his government.

"Crime exists, and we must ensure that this type of crime does not increase. We take money from NGOs, "he said.

"Now they feel affected by the lack of funds. So, maybe the types of NGOs are carrying out these criminal acts to generate negative attention against me and the Brazilian government. This is the war we face. "
 

Environmental groups have been campaigning for a long time to save the Amazon, blaming Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, for endangering the vital rainforest. They accuse him of relaxing environmental controls in the country and encouraging deforestation.

Bolsonaro's environmental policies have been controversial since the beginning of his term. Bolsonaro, former Army captain, made campaign promises to restore the economy by exploring the economic potential of the Amazon.

Just a few weeks ago, the INPE director was fired after a dispute with the president; the director defended the satellite data that showed that deforestation was 88% higher in June than the previous year, and Bolsonaro called the findings "lies."

Bolsonaro also criticized the agency's deforestation warnings as harmful to trade negotiations, according to Agencia Brasil news agency.

Bolsonaro's favorable business stance may have emboldened loggers, farmers and miners to take control of a growing area of ​​Amazonian land, said Carlos Rittl, executive secretary of the nonprofit environmental organization Observatorio do Clima (Observatorio of the weather), to CNN in Spanish last month.

Budget cuts and federal interference make it even easier for people to exploit the rainforest. Brazil's environmental compliance agency has had a budget cut of $ 23 million, and official data sent to CNN by the Observatorio do Clima show that the agency's operations have declined since Bolsonaro took office.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro said the recent wave of fires in the Amazon may have been caused by non-governmental organizations to attract international criticism of his government.

"Crime exists, and we must ensure that this type of crime does not increase. We take money from NGOs, "he said.

"Now they feel affected by the lack of funds. So, maybe the types of NGOs are carrying out these criminal acts to generate negative attention against me and the Brazilian government. This is the war we face. "