Politicians react to environmental oversight and put pressure on Marina Silva's ministry.

By Rubens Valente, Public Agency - Enforcement actions carried out by Ibama in the Amazon in recent weeks have triggered a reaction from parliamentarians in the region, who have begun to exert pressure on the agency and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in Brasília. Last week, a group made up of 16 federal deputies, four senators, two state deputies, and a mayor from three Amazonian states (Acre, Amazonas, and Rondônia), including Bolsonaro supporters and critics, sought out the ministry's executive secretary, João Paulo Capobianco, who at the time was acting as interim minister, and the president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, to make requests and complaints about Ibama's actions.

Senator Alan Rick (União-AC), a supporter of Bolsonaro, said in a video released on his social media that the initiative for the meeting came from him and that the parliamentarians wanted a "24-month extension" for a supposed "environmental regularization" of cattle ranchers whose properties had been seized. He also said that permission was requested for sawmills under Ibama inspection to resume their activities in the yards, such as cutting and processing wood. In addition to Rick, Senators Sergio Petecão (PSD-AC), who declared his support for Bolsonaro in the 2018 elections and was vice-leader of his government in the Senate, Plínio Valério (PSDB-AM), who since 2019 has been campaigning against non-governmental organizations working on environmental and indigenous peoples issues in the Amazon, and Omar Aziz (PSD-AM), former president of the Covid CPI and who acts as "coordinator" of the Amazonas caucus, were present at the meeting.

In a separate event on the same day, the 12th, the former governor of Acre and current president of ApexBrasil, Jorge Viana (PT), also met with the president of Ibama. After the meeting, he told the website “O Rio Branco” that his role “is to remain concerned about environmental issues, but always to defend agricultural and forestry activities, which are, obviously, within the law.” 

According to the "Congress Monitor" platform, developed by the environmental website "((o)) eco," as a federal deputy, Alan Rick voted in favor of all the projects on the Bolsonaro government's anti-environmental agenda, which sought to weaken environmental protection policies in the country, a move referred to by his then-minister, Ricardo Salles, as "passing the cattle herd." Rick supported the bills known as the Poison Bill (6299/2002) and the Land Grabbing Bill (2633/2020), which loosened environmental licensing rules and provided urgency for the project to allow mining on indigenous lands. In 2019, Rick participated in a meeting with Ricardo Salles that preceded the suspension of government inspection actions within the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in Acre. 

The operations now being questioned by parliamentarians were launched during Lula's government and reflect the environmental strategy of trying to reduce the high rates of deforestation in the Amazon recorded during Bolsonaro's government as quickly as possible, with impactful actions on several fronts simultaneously. These operations have been the target of fake news campaigns on social media and Amazonian websites in recent days against the government, the PT (Workers' Party), and Lula. One of the lies claimed that IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) had blocked "95%" of logging companies in Acre, when in reality it was 4%. Another stated that IBAMA had seized "500" head of cattle, when the true number is around 3. IBAMA had to release a statement clarifying the accusations. 

In Acre, as part of Operation Metaverso, which targeted seven other states, Ibama suspended the sale of timber from 16 sawmills in Acre due to evidence of involvement in fraud with virtual credits in order to "legalize" material illegally extracted from conservation units. In Lábrea and Manicoré, in Amazonas, and in Pacajá, in Pará, the environmental agency seized, during Operation Retomada, approximately 3 head of cattle raised in areas previously embargoed by inspectors. In addition to disregarding the embargo, the ranchers also released the cattle onto the same areas. These three municipalities have registered high rates of deforestation in recent years. In 2022 alone, according to Ibama, citing data from INPE (National Institute for Space Research), 117 hectares were deforested in the three regions.

Government seeks 'pact' to reduce deforestation.

Sources consulted by Agência Pública at the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) and IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) said that, once the enforcement actions were launched – the first of many to come – the government already expected a coordinated political movement opposing the operations. It was predictable that IBAMA, emerging from four years of lethargy that marked Jair Bolsonaro's government in the repression of environmental crimes, would come under fire from rural landowners, politicians, and Bolsonaro supporters in the Amazon. On the other hand, the government seeks to leverage the message now being conveyed – that "IBAMA has woken up" or "is back" – to forge an effective engagement between politicians, businesspeople, and public managers in the region around a "pact" for reducing deforestation in the Amazon.

In an interview with a TV station in Amazonas shortly after the meeting, João Capobianco said that the ministry is working "towards bringing these leaders together, we will also involve the leaders of the state governments, in the search for a common understanding to prioritize a pact for the immediate reduction of deforestation and a set of actions that we will put in place to resolve the issues that afflict parliamentarians and afflict us as well, which is to seek solutions so that the people, the families, who are there [in the Amazon] can operate legally."

During the meeting with parliamentarians, according to one of those present, there was criticism of the oversight, but also, throughout the meeting, it became clear that there was recognition that illegal activities must be combated by the federal government. "In general, everyone admitted that people are committing environmental crimes, that they couldn't raise cattle in embargoed areas, for example. What happened was that the force of IBAMA, let's say the heavy hand, began to create a certain dialogue with the parliamentary class so that they can also contribute to solving the problem of deforestation."

Regarding the blockade of logging companies in Acre, the government explained to parliamentarians that there was a suspension of merchandise sales operations until inspectors carry out an on-site verification. However, the company can "operate normally" in other activities, such as the movement of timber in the yard, which was one of the points on the politicians' agenda.

The cattle were seized in Amazonas and Pará, government representatives said, because there was a repeat offense, after several infraction notices, of cattle being raised in embargoed areas. There are even cases with court orders to be enforced. Ibama said at the meeting that numerous deadlines were given for the removal of the cattle before seizure, but that new deadlines may be established provided the offender presents a credible argument, such as rainfall or the quality of the roads in the region.

In an interview with a TV station after the hearing, the president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, said that "we will grant the requests for extensions" and "those who wish for a new deadline may request it."

In a statement released on the 11th, Ibama reported that Operation Metaverso, which targeted logging companies in Acre, is "another emergency action aimed at halting the process of destruction of the Amazon inherited from the previous administration. These measures will be followed by medium- and long-term structural actions within the scope of the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (PPCDAm)." According to Ibama, 23 fines were issued, totaling R$ 33 million, to 21 businesses located in the Federal District and eight states (AC, AP, GO, MS, MG, PE, RR, and TO).

As cited in Ibama's statement, a new and revitalized structure for PPCDam, a broad anti-deforestation program, was presented by Minister Marina Silva on February 8th. The first version, launched in 2004, is considered the main reason for the 83% drop in deforestation recorded in the Amazon during the Lula and Dilma governments, from 2004 to 2012. On the same day, February 8th, the government created a permanent interministerial commission for the prevention and control of deforestation and wildfires, involving 19 ministries and encompassing all biomes, not just the Amazon. 

Senator says he intends to "confront the imposed environmental policy"

Senators Rick, Valério, Petecão, and Aziz were contacted by Agência Pública, but could not be reached. Valério's press office said that Aziz, as the "coordinator" of the delegation, could speak, but his office did not respond to an interview request. On Instagram, Petecão wrote on the day of the meeting at the Ministry of the Environment that he was, along with the delegations from Amazonas and Rondônia, "discussing the blockades that suspended the activities of logging companies and the embargoes on rural properties in our states and neighboring states." "It is essential that we find solutions that guarantee sustainable economic development for our region," the senator wrote.

On the day of the meeting at the Ministry of the Environment, Senator Valério did not mention the meeting on Twitter. However, he posted a photograph of the "launch ceremony of the Amazon Parliament and the multi-party parliamentary group for conservation and sustainable production in the Brazilian Congress." The senator stated that he believes "we, Amazonians, must confront the environmental policy imposed from the outside in, and see the preservation that we want."

Senator Alan Rick tweeted days before the meeting that “the embargoes on rural properties in Acre represent job losses and damage to all sectors of the economy. I sent a message to Minister Marina Silva and next week we will be at the Ministry of the Environment seeking solutions to this situation.” After the meeting, he posted a video online in which he states that “we requested the minister” that “the entire operation of the logging companies cannot be paralyzed,” but that “the minister said that this is resolved.” Regarding the embargoed cattle, the senator said in the video that “we requested a 24-month extension, with the support of the State government, so that there is a movement by the environmental agencies to provide this assistance to our producers so that they can regularize their areas and no longer suffer from these embargoes.”

Although critical of and targeted by Bolsonaro and a supporter of Lula, Senator Omar Aziz has also shared on his social media a video in which former federal deputy Aldo Rebelo (PDT-SP) generically accuses NGOs of being a "parallel state" in the Amazon, comparing them to "organized crime," and claiming they are "blocking the country's development." He repeats phrases common among military personnel and Bolsonaro supporters that echo unsubstantiated conspiracy theories of an alleged scheme to "internationalize" the Amazon involving foreign governments. Rebelo has been waging an accusatory campaign against environmental NGOs at meetings organized by farmers, miners, and Bolsonaro supporters in the Amazon. "Parallel state of NGOs" is the same expression that has been used by Senator Plínio Valério.