New Environmental licensing bill vote postponed

Due to lack of consensus and increased social pressure, the Chamber of Deputies took a step back and decided to postpone the voting of the bill that creates a new General Law for Environmental Licensing in Brazil. The proposal has been under legislative debate for over 15 years, with mining and agribusiness lobbyists trying to weaken and fast track environmental licenses and environmentalists opposing it. Deputy Rodrigo Maia, president of the Chamber, established a General Commission to analyse the matter; the project is now in its 5th version and there is no established date for voting.