VP Mourão says Bolsonaro authorized new military operation in Brazil’s Amazon

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Vice-President Hamilton Mourão said on Friday 11 that President Jair Bolsonaro has authorized a new operation by the Armed Forces to fight environmental crimes in the Amazon region.

“I spoke with the president yesterday. He authorized it. We are completing the planning,” said Mourão when asked by journalists upon arrival at the Planalto Palace. The vice-president heads the National Council for the Legal Amazon, which, among other issues, deals with fighting environmental crimes in the Amazon region.

The cost of the new operation, which is expected to span 2 months, is R$50 (US$9.7) million, Mourão said. He added that he has already spoken with the Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes, who has guaranteed the resources. The mission should start next week, the vice-president added.

Since 2019, two Armed Forces operations in the Amazon have been authorized, Verde Brasil 1 and 2. The most recent of them ended in April. The plan is for the new operation to run for 2 months, Mourão said. The planning of the mission falls under the Ministry of Defense, which must define the area in which the Army will operate.

Mourão said that alignment with environmental agencies is also required. “I need IBAMA [Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources] and ICMBio [Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Preservation] to work together, because otherwise there will be no success,” he said.

For the Law and Order Assurance Operation (GLO) with the Armed Forces in the Amazon to be effective, the publication in the Federal Gazette of a presidential decree authorizing the measure is required.