Bolsonaro further loosens regulations on Pesticides through decree

President Jair Bolsonaro signed decree 10.833/2021, which amends decree nº 4.074/2002, that regulates the Brazilian laws on pesticides (7802/1989). The measure was criticized by environmentalists who claim that it is worrying and dangerous for the health of the population to be more flexible in the approval of pesticides that cause serious diseases, such as cancer, and even genetic alterations, as indicated by an article by Pública.

For the doctor and researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FioCruz), Karen Friedrich, the decree 10.833/2021 is a way of passing the Bill 6.299/2002, known as the “Poison Package”, which encountered barriers in the Legislative branch. “The Poison Package” is already on the way. This “ox has been passing through the fence (an allusion to the agribusiness and cattle ranching-backed wave of legislation being approved in the country recently) through various infra-legal devices”, she declared to Pública.

In the following week, the Permanent Campaign Against Pesticides and for Life published a technical analysis that identified the main 17 amendments to the presidential decree.

Since the beginning of his mandate, Bolsonaro’s government has approved more than 1400 new pesticide products, almost 40% of the total commercialized in Brazil.