Former ministers release statement criticizing Bolsonaro’s environmental policies

In a historic and unprecedented reunion, seven former ministers of the environment, who worked for the past 5 federal administrations in almost 30 years, gathered at the University of São Paulo to publish a joint statement repudiating Bolsonaro’s government policies for the environment. In the document, the former officials write that current policies “compromise Brazil’s image and credibility in the international arena” and demand a “permanent and constructive dialogue” between the government and civil society. Besides criticising the administrative reforms and budget cuts at the Ministry of the Environment, the statement also underlines the climate denial narrative, the frequent attacks on scientists monitoring deforestation and against Ibama agents, the risk of increased deforestation and forest fires and the trend to weaken licensing processes and parameters. Minister Salles responded on the same day with a written note to the press, where he basically dismissed all the risks or blamed them on the previous administrations. As the year went on, most of the risks identified by the former ministers in their document became a reality.