The Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, revoked an order that would have canceled Atlantic Forest environmental infraction notices related to invasions going up to 2008.
The initiative, which was linked to the Advocacia-Geral da União and applied the Forest Code, allowed environmental infraction notices to be canceled in practice.
In an interview with Folha, the minister said that he invalidated the order and that the government decided to enter an ADC (Direct Action of Constitutionality) in the STF (Supreme Federal Court), thus trying to avoid legal questions.
In recent weeks, the decision has been contested by environmental entities, and the Federal Public Ministry has even requested its annulment.
In the conversation with Folha, the minister acknowledged the difficulty in reducing deforestation in the Amazon forest this year but said he believed that the outlook is positive for 2021.
He minimized a bid of R $ 1 million for the rental of armored cars. "All ministries have an armored car. Is a Minister of State riding an armored car a case of Maharajah?" he asked.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon