Brazil's President Accepts Chile's Help in Battling Amazon Wildfires
aircraft in the fight against
wildfires in the Amazon rainforest, and he renewed his criticism of
French President Emmanuel Macron.
Bolsonaro again accused the French leader of calling him a liar over a
dispute about how to contain the raging wildfires. He said Macron
believed himself to be "the one and only person interested in defending
the environment."
Bolsonaro's remarks came one day after he said his country would accept
$20 million in aid from Group of Seven countries to battle the wildfires
only if Macron retracted what Bolsonaro considered offensive remarks.
He initially said Tuesday that Macron had accused him of being a liar and demanded that Macron retract his comments.
"From there, we can talk," Bolsonaro said.
Bolsonaro rejected the aid Monday, declaring the funds could be better used in Europe.
Amazon nations' meeting
After a meeting Wednesday with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in
Brasilia, Bolsonaro said Amazon nations, except Venezuela, would meet in
Colombia Sept. 6 "to come up with our own unified strategy for
preserving the environment."
A statement Wednesday from the two South American leaders acknowledged
environmental challenges must be met, but only by respecting "national
sovereignty."
While Bolsonaro said Brazil was willing to accept "bilateral" offers of
aid, he accused Germany and France of trying to "buy" the sovereignty of
Brazil.
Macron
has questioned Bolsonaro's honesty and commitment to protecting the
environment. He threatened last week to block a free-trade deal between
Latin America and the European Union unless Bolsonaro, a climate change
skeptic, took serious steps to fight the Amazon fires.
World leaders at the recently concluded G-7 summit in France of the
world's most advanced economies committed an immediate $20 million on
Monday to fight the wildfires that are threatening the world's biggest
rainforest.
Macron said France within hours would provide military support in the region to fight the fires.
Bolsonaro's chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni, took aim at Macron on
Tuesday, declaring Brazil was a nation that "never had colonialist and
imperialist practices, as perhaps is the objective of the Frenchman
Macron."
Lorenzoni also said Macron could not "even avoid a foreseeable fire in a
church that is a world heritage site," a reference to an April fire
that devastated France's Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Macron and Pinera said the G-7 countries — the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and France — were studying the possibility of giving similar aid to support Africa to fight wildfires in its rainforests.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump pledged his "complete support" for Bolsonaro. In a tweet, Trump said Bolsonaro "is working very hard on the Amazon fires and in all respects doing a great job for the people of Brazil - Not easy."
Under pressure from the international community to protect the environment, Bolsonaro on Sunday dispatched two C-130 Hercules aircraft to help douse the flames. Macron said the U.S. supported the aid to South American countries, even though Trump skipped Monday's G-7 working session on the environment.
More than 75,000 fires covering the Amazon region have been detected this year, with many of them coming this month. Experts have blamed farmers and ranchers for the fires, accusing them of setting them to clear lands for their operations.
About 60% of the Amazon region is in Brazil. The vast rainforest also extends into Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana
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