Bolsonaro Criticizes Indigenous Reserves at A Meeting with Amazon Governors

Fires were not a priority in the meeting between the president and states that requested government help

Instead of discussing ways to prevent fires in the Amazon, President Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) debated indigenous lands in a meeting on Tuesday (27) with Amazon state governors.

At the meeting, held at the Planalto Palace, Bolsonaro questioned the current percentage of indigenous areas in the states and called the demarcation policy adopted by previous companies "irresponsible." 

"The Amazon has been used politically since President Fernando Collor," he said. "Those who preceded me were irresponsible with this policy adopted in the past, using the Indian to make these states unfeasible," he said.

President Jair Bolsonaro during the meeting. Foto: Marcos Corrêa/PR - Marcos Corrêa/PR

Attendees expected to discuss policies to avoid arson in the forest. The governors of Amazonas, Pará, and Roraima argued, for example, that the Brazilian government accepts the US $ 20 million (about R $ 83 million) offered by the G7 countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who exchanged criticism with Bolsonaro about the wave of fires in the Amazon, announced the aid by the world's most industrialized economies.

The Bolsonaro administration told journalists that Brazilian would decline the aid. But on Tuesday morning Bolsonaro said that he would accept the assistance if Macron apoligized for calling him a "liar."

Translated by Kiratiana Freelon

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