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Anonymous ID: c1f91f Jan. 7, 2019, 11:48 a.m. No.4648667   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>8690 >>8801 >>8904 >>8956

Brazil's environmental chief resigns after Bolsonaro criticism

 

The head of Brazil's environmental protection agency has resigned following criticism from the country's newly inaugurated far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

 

A spokesperson for the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) confirmed on Monday that Suely de Araujo stepped down after Bolsonaro suggested there were irregularities in Ibama's budget, Reuters news agency reported. Araujo had led the agency since 2016.

 

The Environment Ministry, which oversees Ibama, told Reuters in an emailed statement that it had been planning to replace Araujo and that a new head of the agency would be named within days.

 

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who swept to power in a tumultuous October election, has routinely attacked Ibama, which is tasked with policing the Amazon rainforest to stop deforestation and illegal mining.

 

On Sunday, the 63-year-old retweeted a Tweet published by Brazil's environment minister, Ricardo Salles, highlighting an alleged 28.7 million reais ($7.73m) spend by the agency on rental vehicles this year.

 

"We've had a system created mainly to financially violate Brazilians without the slightest care," Bolsonaro, who has toyed with yanking Brazil out of the Paris climate accord, said.

 

Araujo released a written statement on Sunday saying Bolsonaro and Salles, who has previously called climate change a "secondary issue" and alleged many environmental fines are "ideological", had made "baseless accusations."

 

She said the cost was for the rental of 393 four-wheel drive trucks used by Ibama's armed agents across Brazil, and that the contract's amount also included all fuel costs and maintenance.

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/brazil-environmental-chief-resigns-criticism-190107161353404.html