South American Presidents to Discuss Amazon Preservation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Leaders of South American countries will meet on September 6th to discuss a single policy for the preservation of the Amazon and the sustainable exploration of the region. According to president Jair Bolsonaro, the meeting will take place in Leticia, a Colombian city bordering Brazil in Tabatinga, Amazonas.

Chilean president Sebastián Piñera was welcomed to the Palácio da Alvorada today, August 28th, to address environmental issues and discuss Chile’s attendance, as a guest, at the G7 meeting on Monday, August 26th, in Biarritz, France.

The Chilean president stressed that the Amazon comprises almost half of the world’s tropical forests and captures a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions, but said that the sovereignty of the nine Amazon countries must be acknowledged and respected.

Chile will send four fire-fighting planes to Brazil.

International aid

Brazil’s president Bolsonaro once again quoted statements by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and lamented the “terrible image [of Brazil] that has been magnified by Mr. Macron. President Macron took advantage of this to promote himself before the world as the sole and exclusive person interested in defending the environment. This is not (only) his banner, it’s ours, it’s from Chile, it’s from many countries in the world.”

The leaders of the G7 countries agreed to release US$20 million to help contain the fires in the Amazon.

President Jair Bolsonaro said once again that the donations Brazil received from countries like Germany and Norway for environmental preservation projects were ways of “buying the Amazon in installments” and undermining national sovereignty in controlling the region. “When you look at the size of Brazil, the eighth economy in the world, it seems that US$20 million is our price, Brazil has no price, US$20 million or US$20 trillion is the same for us. Any bilateral aid, as Piñera said, we are willing to accept.”

Bolsonaro again conditioned the reception of G7 funds to an apology from the French president. “Only after he retracts what he said about me, representing Brazil as its elected president, and also the patriotic spirit of our people, who do not accept relinquishing sovereignty over the Amazon, and if there is no problem, we will talk again [about the donations].”

Joint note

After the meeting at the Palácio da Alvorada, the Foreign Ministry issued a joint statement in which the presidents reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation and coordination between Brazil and Chile in all areas and to expanding integration in South America, based on political and economic freedom.

Both agree to seek bilateral cooperation and international financial support to contribute to the protection of the Amazon rainforests, which are consistent with national policies and complementary to multilateral mechanisms.

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