Environmental fines drop by 93% in the Amazon during Bolsonaro’s tenure

A survey made by the Center for Remote Sensing and the Environmental Services Management Laboratory of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) confirms the “blackout” in environmental fines during Bolsonaro’s administration. According to the research, between 2019 and 2020, the average number of fines effectively paid for crimes in the Amazon had a drop of 93% compared to the previous four years.

With former minister Ricardo Salles at the head of the Ministry of Environment (MMA), the annual average of lawsuits with fines paid in the first two years of the current government was 44 - an insignificant rate compared to the average of 688 lawsuits recorded between 2014 and 2018.

The authors of the study attribute the drop to changes in Brazilian environmental legislation and in the MMA’s internal rules that occurred between 2019 and 2020, responsible for weakening agencies environmental law-enforcement capabilities and the internal progress of processes linked to the investigation of offenses.