In an unacceptable statement, Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonado, the son of current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, said the current government could implement a new AI-5, which means the closing of the National Congress and the persecution, torture and extermination of opponents

Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, explicitly threatened in an interview by saying: "If the left radicalizes this point, we will need to have an answer. And one answer may be via a new AI-5."

The AI-5 was the most repressive decree of the Brazilian military dictatorship in the decades of 1960, 1970, and 1980 that eliminated all constitutional rights and solidified a bloodthirsty and totally arbitrary military rule.

Several parties like PSOL and political movements like Livres from a broad political spectrum will represent against Eduardo Bolsonaro in the House and ask for the cancellation of his mandate for the crime of advocating for the closing of the National Congress, and the persecution of political opponents. Eduardo's speech is clearly against the Brazilian Constitution and other democratic institutions. The requests must be made to the Ethics Council of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

Countless politicians have responded to Eduardo's speech about AI-5, for all the speeches of Jair Bolsonaro's son represent a clear setback and high risk to Brazilian democracy.

Copom reduces basic interest rates of the Brazilian economy to the lowest level in history: 5% per year; the rate is expected to continue to be reduced at future meetings

For the third time in a row, in a decision that was already expected by financial analysts, the Brazilian Central Bank (BC) lowered the basic interest rates of the economy. Unanimously, the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) reduced the Selic rate to 5% per year, with a 0.5 percentage point cut.

With today's decision, Selic reached its lowest level since the beginning of the Central Bank's historical series in 1986. From October 2012 to April 2013, the rate was maintained at 7.25% per year and has now been readjusted. gradually until it reached 14.25% per annum in July 2015. In October 2016, the Copom again reduced the basic interest rates of the economy until the rate reached 6.5% per annum in March 2018. Now the country reached 5% per annum.

At the meeting of the Monetary Policy Council (Copom) of the Brazilian Central Bank, which took place today, a new 0.50 pp cut in the Selic rate was practically anticipated at the next meeting, in December 2019. The Copom also introduced, in the balance sheet risks, the lagged effects of the stimulating monetary policy (upward risk of inflation) and mentioned that the current stage of the economic cycle recommends caution in any further adjustments in the degree of the stimulus.

The minute of the Copom meeting also pointed to projections for the 2020 IPCA between 0.30 pp and 0.40 pp below the 4.0% target. Therefore, the Selic terminal is expected to be between 4.0% and 4.5% in the coming months. More cuts thus likely as reforms go through, according to the Copom minute. 

Bloomberg, AFP, Washington Post, and AP echo the news from Jornal Nacional that says that investigation cites visit of the suspected man of the murderer of Marielle Franco to Bolsonaro's house in Rio de Janeiro on the day of the murder

According to AFP, "Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has angrily denied links to last year's assassination of a prominent politician in Rio, after reports that a suspect in the murder investigation visited his residence before the killing". According to The Washington Post, Brazilian president had lashed "out at media over links to left-wing politician’s murder". According to Bloomberg, Bolsonaro was "furious as his name is cited in murder case".

President Bolsonaro has photos of militants linked to the Marielle murder, the president's sons also have a photo of these militiamen and their family members, some of whom worked in the offices of the president's sons, and his youngest son has dated the daughter of one of the militia members who has even been arrested.

Although the formal accusation is relatively fragile against Bolsonaro, since the president would be at the same time in Brasilia, at the National Congress, which is more than 1,100 kilometers away from the city of Rio de Janeiro, the very nervous reaction of the president showed that the information released by Rede Globo's Jornal Nacional has left Jair Bolsonaro visibly altered.

In his transmission on Facebook, the president made harsh criticism of Rede Globo media group, saying that this company made his life a living "hell". Bolsonaro even threatened to revoke the station's concession, which will have to be renewed in 2022.

Today, according to AP, Bolsonaro continued to say things in a tone far above the expected of a president. On his website, AP published that "Brazil’s president launched a fiery defense of his far-right government on Wednesday during a visit to Saudi Arabia".

Jornal Nacional, from Rede Globo, Brazil's largest television news program, reported today (29.10.2019) that there is a nominal mention of President Jair Bolsonaro in the investigation into the murders of Councilwoman Marielle Franco of Rio de Janeiro and her driver, Anderson Gomes

Today's edition of Jornal Nacional released a nominal mention to President Jair Bolsonaro in the case of the murders of Rio de Janeiro's councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, in 2018.

According to Jornal Nacional, the concierge of the condominium where Bolsonaro lived at the time said in a statement that someone with his voice authorized the entry of one of the suspects of the councilwoman's death on the day of the crime. The suspect, Élcio Queiroz, entered the condominium saying that he would visit Bolsonaro House 58, but eventually went to the residence of Ronnie Lessa, suspected of shooting the councilwoman. Both Queiroz and Lessa are under arrest.

Bolsonaro's lawyer accused the story of untruth and said the president, then a federal deputy, was in the National Congress on the day of the murder of Marielle and Anderson. Social networking records reinforce the president's argument.

However, according to the Jornal Nacional, the witness who, at that time, worked as a doorman for the condominium where Jair Bolsonaro lived, said that the suspect of Marielle's death entered the condominium to seek his partner in crime claiming that he was going to Jair Bolsonaro's home.

The news fell like a bomb in Brazil. Bolsonaro, who is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, recorded a live via Facebook. Much altered, the president accused Rede Globo, saying that the station is "a sow, scoundrel and immoral"; Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel, who, according to Bolsonaro, reportedly leaked his statement to Jornal Nacional.

The repercussion of the case has already generated the trending topic on Twitter #QuemEstavaNaCasa58 (Who was in the house 58?) because the doorman says that someone with the voice very similar to the president answered the concierge call to the president house and released the entry of the suspect to kill Marielle and Anderson on the day the murder of this two.

Eletrobras (ELET3; ELET6) opens new layoff plan to shut down 1,681 employees by year-end; meanwhile, the Brazilian economy remains slow and with high unemployment

Eletrobras (ELET3; ELET6) announced the second consensus dismissal plan for its employees for 2019. The plan will be launched today. Eletrobras' goal is to lay off 1,681 employees by December 31, 2019. The estimated savings in this new termination plan are R $ 510 million per year, at a cost of about R $ 548 million, which represents a return. of 12.9 months.

This decision by the Brazilian state company to lay off hundreds of employees does not help the Brazilian economy. In fact, it is part of a scenario of a general fall in product prices, with a 0.04% deflation in September, registered by the Extended Consumer Price Index (IPCA), which fits in with this second option, reflecting the slow Resumption of employment. The result of September reflects a repressed consumption. In this context of economic slowdown, low inflation should be seen as a warning sign that things are not going well.

Eletrobras is on the list of state-owned companies that the government has already announced that it intends to privatize by means of a capital increase and sale of shareholding control.

On Twitter, Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles insinuates that Greenpeace is linked to oil on beaches in the northeast of the country; Greenpeace goes to court against Salles for hinting NGO link to environmental disaster

In his Twitter account, Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles has again attacked the environmental organization Greenpeace. This time, Salles hinted that the organization could be behind the oil spill that affects the country's coast.

Greenpeace public policy coordinator Marcio Astrini responded to the accusations by saying that the NGO is "going to court against false statements made by the minister."

In an official statement, Greenpeace stated that it will take “all reasonable legal measures against all statements made by Minister Ricardo Salles. The authorities have to take responsibility and account for the rule of law for their actions.”

This unacceptable behavior is present throughout Jair Bolsonaro's government. The environment minister just replicates the same practice of making irresponsible and unrealistic accusations on social networks. Brazil's own president did this when the Amazon fires gained worldwide attention. At that time, Bolsonaro said, with no proof of his claim, that NGOs could be behind the fires. 

However, investigations by the Brazilian Civil Police and Federal Police indicate, for example, that farmers and businessmen from Novo Progresso were organizers of the 'Fire Day' that burned thousands of hectares in the Amazon region.

Pension Reform is approved by the Brazilian Senate and generates the expectation of an economy of around 800 billion reais over the next 10 years, meanwhile, the Brazilian Military pensions remain untouched and highly deficient

The Social Security Reform approved yesterday in the Brazilian Senate will reach more than 72 million Brazilians, including workers from the private sector and the public service. The main change will be the establishment of minimum retirement age for workers in these two sectors. Now the minimum retirement age for men is 65 and for women 62. The rule also applies to politicians. Pension Reform also extinguished retirement by the time of contribution.

Despite so many signs that the peoples of Latin America no longer support the social inequality caused by the reforms. Chile is an example of this, as it made a Social Security Reform very similar to the Brazilian one and impoverished many of the country's elderly. Currently, Chile is the Latin American country with the highest mortality rate of the elderly by suicide.

The Social Security Reform approved yesterday also did not address several problems. The largest of these is the retirement of the Brazilian military. Currently, this sector represents only 1% of the total retirees in the country but corresponds to 15% of the deficit. Per year, the military costs 47 billion reais per year to Brazilian Social Security and contributes 3 billion reais.

The current government, which has not affected the retirement of the military, has a strong military presence in command positions. According to the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, approximately 2,500 members of the Armed Forces hold leadership positions or advise in Bolsonaro government ministries and departments.

There is a proposal for the reform of the Military Welfare in the Brazilian National Congress, but it has not been moving at the same speed as the rules that will now affect all other Brazilian workers.

According to biologists and oceanographers, oil damage and chemical contamination on the northeast coast of Brazil will last for decades

In an interview with BBC Brazil, oceanographer Mariana Thevenin, one of the coordinators of the Brazilian volunteer group Guardião do Litoral, which was formed in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, to clean beaches, estuaries and mangroves since the contamination reached the Brazilian coast, said that substances that contaminate Brazilian beaches as a result of this disaster could "easily fall into the food chain." According to her, "a small fish, for example, can eat something that is contaminated. This goes into jail until it reaches the fish we eat."

Yesterday, according to the website G1, biologists from the Solidarity Fisheries project found spots of crude oil on the area where is the aquatic plants that are the main food of a species on the Brazilian coast that is in serious danger of extinction: the Manatees (Peixe-boi). The discovery occurred in Praia da Lama, municipality of Cajueiro da Praia, 384 km from Teresina, on the Piauí Coast. According to biologists, after contamination of the area, the manatees disappeared from the site.

According to the marine biologist and professor at the University of Pernambuco (UPE), Clemente Coelho Junior, cleaning the oil slicks that had hit the reefs of Carneiros Beach, in Tamandaréa, in Pernambuco is "practically impossible" because the reefs are porous and absorb the substance. Reefs from various other locations in the northeastern Brazilian coast were also affected by the oil.

Until now 900 tons of oil were collected from the beaches. According to Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), the oil has reached 200 locations in 76 municipalities in 9 states of the Brazilian Northeast.

Cost of living in Brazil: Brazilian financial market declined, for the eleventh consecutive time, now the country's inflation forecast in 2019 fell from 3.28% to 3.26%

Financial market economists reduce the inflation estimate for this year and also a forecast for the economy's basic interest rates at the end of 2019 – from 4.75% to 4.5% per year. Some analysts believe basic interest rates in Brazil are likely to fall even lower in early 2020.

As the projections appear in the market bulletin known as the report Focus (Relatório Focus), released today (21.10.2019) by the Brazilian Central Bank (BC). The report is the result of a survey conducted last week with more than 100 financial institutions.

According to one institution, financial market analysts have lowered the inflation estimate for this year from 3.28% to 3.26%. It was the first consecutive drop in this indicator.

Members of the Federal Prosecution Service of Brazil (MPF) file a civil action against President Jair Bolsonaro's government to force him to act to combat the oil spill that is already the biggest environmental disaster in the country's coastal history

Prosecutors in nine northeastern states accuse the Brazilian federal government of omission. They decided to go to court to demand that the federal government trigger a 24-hour contingency plan, which was created in 2013 and was terminated on April 2014 by the Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) government. Following the adoption of the measure imposed by the government of Jair Bolsonaro, dozens of boards of the federal administration and two committees that were part of the National Contingency Plan for Oil Pollution Incidents (PNC), were extinguished.

So far, oil containment that is polluting several beaches in northeastern Brazil is being done by Petrobras and state governments. The governor of Bahia, Rui Costa, publicly discussed with the Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, through Twitter.

Costa said Salles should "stop doing politics and work" and asked the minister if she already knew who was responsible for the "very serious environmental accident" and what the minister had done about the leak.

The lack of action by the federal government is very serious indeed. The problem of oil slicks on the Brazilian coast began in August, but only in recent days has the federal government started to act a little more intensely. However, Jair Bolsonaro, who has not visited any of the affected areas, will travel to Asia in the midst of the biggest environmental crisis of the history of the Brazilian beaches.

Since August 30, 187 regions of the Brazilian Northeast coast have been reached. 12 conservation units were polluted. Beautiful beaches that attract thousands of tourists every year were hit, as is the case of São José da Coroa Grande (PE) beach.

The images are terrifying. In many beaches, the residents themselves are gathering to try to remove the oil and save the environment, but the lack of a plan of combat and action by the federal government in these regions is evident.

Cost of living in Brazil: according to IBGE the poorest half of the Brazilian population lives on R$ 413 a month, which is a little over a 100 dollars

Data published today by the IBGE indicate that 104 million Brazilians, the poorest 50% of the population, "live" with $ 413 per month, something around 100 dollars.

If the cut selects the poorest 30% (60.4 million people), the average monthly income drops to R$ 269, just over 60 dollars per month. Meanwhile, 1% of richer Brazilians have a monthly per capita income of R$ 16,297, or something around four thousand dollars.

IBGE also pointed out that income inequality has reached a record level in Brazil. Over the past few years, the poor have gotten poorer as their incomes fell 3.8% between 2017 and 2018, while the rich got richer as their incomes grew 8.2% over the same period.

Thus, income inequality in the country reached a record level in 2018, within the historical series of the National Continuous Household Sample Survey (Pnad Contínua), initiated in 2012 by IBGE.

Banco Inter (BIDI4) and Uber negotiate partnership in Brazil, according to Reuters

According to Folha de S.Paulo newspaper and Reuters news agency, "Banco Inter and Uber are in negotiations to establish a partnership in the area of financial services." This move "demonstrates the work of the Japanese group SoftBank to integrate their business in Latin America" according to Reuters.

According to Folha de S.Paulo, "SoftBank, which is a shareholder of Uber, has acquired a stake of approximately 15% in Banco Inter this year." These negotiations aim to boost Banco Inter's business in Brazil.

In Brazil, the partnership can target both Uber's more than 600,000 drivers and Banco Inter's more than 3 million customers.

IBR-Br: performance of the Brazilian economy in August 2019 is below expectations

The Brazilian Central Bank Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br), released today, was below expectations. According to this index, a kind of signal of how is going to be the performance of Brazil's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the country's economic activity is practically stagnant in 2019.

The IBC-Br rose 0.07% in August compared to the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted data by BC.

At this rate, the Brazilian economy grows at a rate of 0.8% per year. Brazilian financial market analysts' expectations were for growth of 0.2%, so performance was well below expectations.

Camil Alimentos (CAML3) company has a 41% drop in its performance with net income of R$ 40.1 million in the second quarter of 2019

Camil Alimentos recorded a net income of R$ 40.1 million in the second quarter of 2019, considered by the company between June and August, performance 41% lower than the reported in the same period last year. Net revenue, in turn, rose 6.8% and totaled R $ 1.2 billion.

Camil is one of the largest food companies in South America. The company's EBITDA reached R$ 88.7 million (-34.1%), with a margin of 7.3% (-4.5pp).

Service sector in Brazil records the fifth fall in 2019, according to IBGE

The Monthly Survey of Services, released today by IBGE, indicated that the volume of services fell by 0.2% in August 2019, compared to July, the sector's fifth negative result in 2019. In August 2018, fall was 1.4%. Year-to-date, despite the decline, the sector advanced 0.5%.

In 12 months, there was a loss of pace of recovery, with accumulated growth going from 0.9% in July to 0.6% in August. When considering the entire historical series, which began in 2011, the volume of services in the country is still 12.1% below its best moment, reached in November 2014.

According to IBGE, retail sales, mainly from supermarkets and hypermarkets, prevented retail sales from being negative in August. The volume of trade in this month was 0.1% compared to July, indicating stability. August 2019 was also the third consecutive month that the sector obtained a positive rate, accumulating a high of 1.2% in the year.

Cost of living in Brazil: the country has deflation of 0.04% in September 2019

According to data from the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), released today by the IBGE, Brazil had, in September, a deflation of 0.04%. This is the lowest result for this month since 1998.

The main factors for this number were the fall in the cost of food away from home, which fell 0.53%, and the fall in the cost of food at home, which fell 0.70%. There was also a fall in-home appliance prices, which was 2.26%, and on TV, sound and computer prices, which was 0.90%.

The National Index of Construction (Sinapi), also released today by the IBGE, grew 0.37% in September. The main reason for the increase was the cost of labor.

The Regional Monthly Industrial Survey, also released today by the IBGE, indicates that after three months of negative rates, the São Paulo industry, the largest in Brazil, grew 2.6% in August, influenced by the increase in sugar production.

The return of censorship to Brazil

In recent months, after the election of a far-right candidate for president, Brazil is witnessing the return of censorship at various levels. From mayors to the president himself, Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil has become the scene of arbitrariness against cultural productions that do not fit the ultra-conservative perspective of certain political actors in the country.

According to the website El País Brasil, the president himself justifies his mission of “preserving Christian values, treating our youth with respect, recognizing the family as a unit that must be healthy for the good of all”. In the name of this, several far-right civil servants and politicians judge themselves on the right to censor books, comics, plays, art exhibitions, and film productions.

In January 2019, upon assuming the presidency of Brazil, Bolsonaro extinguished the Ministry of Culture. Since then, the ministry has become secretariat status within the new Ministry of Citizenship, under the command of Minister Osmar Terra, who, among other things, has advocated the closure of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) if the agency approves rules on cannabis plantation in Brazil for the production of medicines and prohibited the publication of the 3rd National Survey on Drug Use by the Brazilian Population by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), a health research institution with more than 100 years of history.

President Jair Bolsonaro has already censored an advertisement by state bank Banco do Brasil that displayed racial and sexual diversity. The video censored by the Brazilian president featured black actors and actresses and different contemporary styles of life just to talk to the young audience, targeted by the bank's campaign.

Now another state-owned bank, Caixa Economica Federal, according to Folha de S. Paulo, has created a system of censorship prior to projects of its cultural centers. This week, according to the UOL website, Caixa Cultural Recife canceled the presentations of the children's show Abrazo, which was scheduled for this and next weekend. The play, organized by the Shakespeare Christmas group Clowns of Natal (RN), shows a country that prohibits displays of affection and subtly exposes themes such as dictatorship, censorship, and repression.

In the same vein, other lesser politicians, such as Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella, also tried to censor other artistic manifestations. At the last Rio Book Biennial, the mayor ordered to censor and collect copies of the comic book "Avengers - The Children's Crusade", because the comic had a picture of two young men kissing. The measure was eventually prohibited by the court. Crivella, who is also a bishop of a  Christian right church, has very low approval as mayor and was seeking to increase his approval among the city's most conservative population with this comic book censorship.

At the same time, President Jair Bolsonaro, in an offensive against the Brazilian National Film Agency (Ancine), cut 43% of the audiovisual fund. Then, the Ministry of Citizenship issued an ordinance that prevented the completion of an announcement by the National Cinema Agency (Ancine) for LGBT-themed audiovisual productions. The Brazilian Justice, through the Federal Prosecutor's Office (MPF), would eventually suspend the ordinance that was considered harmful to public coffers.

Paradoxically, the Bolsonaro government is trying to put into practice in Brazil an unacceptable ideological rigging of the state, a fact that he widely criticized as a presidential candidate. Now, in addition to the deep economic crisis and the enormous environmental problems affecting the nation, Brazil has also become the target of the backward and often deranged rightism advocated by the president and other members of his government as the minister of family, women and human rights, Damares Alves, and the Brazilian Chancellor, Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo.

The Household Budget Survey (POF) 2017-2018, released today by IBGE, points out that Brazilians are investing less and paying more debt

The Household Budget Survey (POF) 2017-2018, released today by IBGE, points out that Brazilians are investing less and paying more debt. According to the research, households have less budget space to buy assets such as real estate, land, and capitalization bonds, while they need to devote more of their income to reducing their debt and paying taxes.

The survey generally shows a significant shift in household spending priorities since the 1970s. At that time, Brazilians households stamped 16.5% of their spending on "asset growth." This group, it should be noted, does not include vehicle purchase expenses, which are accounted for under the heading “consumption expenses”.

According to the survey, average Brazilian household expenses amount to R$ 4,649.03 per month, of which only 4.1% was devoted to “asset increases” such as the acquisition of real estate, land, and securities. This is a smaller proportion than in previous versions of the survey, such as 2002-2003 (4.8%) and 2008-2009 (5.8%). This means, in practice, that Brazilians are saving less.

After heavy losses yesterday, Ibovespa operates slightly higher today; dollar remains above R$ 4.00 in Brazil

After falling almost 3% yesterday (02.10.2019), Ibovespa opened today's session with slightly positive performance, which helps to recover some of the recent losses.

Today (02.10.2019), the dollar continues to fall abroad, which, in turn, produces adjustments in the foreign exchange market in Brazil. This morning, in Brazil, the commercial dollar dropped by 0.25% to R $ 4.1235 in the purchase and to R $ 4.1442 in the sale. The futures dollar for November, in turn, fell 0.23% to R $ 4,127 this morning.

Yesterday, the dollar fell 0.67% to R$ 4,1344 on sale, the highest daily low for a close since September 11 (-0.76%) and the lowest since September 18 (R$ 4.1028).

Petrobras (PETR3; PETR4) announces employee benefit cut

According to Suno Research, Petrobras (PETR3; PETR4) will begin to withdraw benefits and migrate to current labor legislation. This means that the Brazilian state-owned company, faced with the current deadlock in negotiations with the Single Federation of Oil Tankers (FUP), regarding the collective bargaining agreement, decided to go for individual agreements, with some specific benefits. This, of course, greatly weakens workers and will favor the company, which may adopt more aggressive stances in individual negotiations.

Currently, Petrobras and FUP are negotiating in the Superior Labor Court (TST) to try to reach a new collective agreement. According to the FUP, among the points under discussion are the compensation for overtime and co-participation in the health plans of employees.

This stalemate could lead the category to a strike, which could gain greater connotations and hinder the sale of pre-salt oil fields at the so-called mega auction scheduled for November this year. Petrobras, in turn, said in a statement that "it was tireless in seeking a deal", even presenting two new versions of its original proposal.

Gold mining dam breaks in Mato Grosso and injures two people; meanwhile, the Brazilian president continues to defend the implementation of large-scale mining in the Amazon

Yesterday, the TB01 dam in the municipality of Nossa Senhora do Livramento, in Mato Grosso, broke up leaving two people injured. The tailings from gold mining flowed through an area of vegetation on the site, knocking down a high voltage pole that serves the region. The Civil Defense rules out the need to vacate the city, which is 30 kilometers away.

Mining in Brazil has already produced numerous environmental disasters. The crimes committed by the mining companies in the cities of Mariana, Bento Rodrigues and Brumadinho, in Minas Gerais, produced huge damage to the affected ecosystems and the region's economy. Such losses are so great that they are incalculable and in some cases irreversible.

As this blog post already pointed out, the landslide that occurred in Brumadinho dam of Vale on January 25 is an example. 250 people died. The tragedy was a direct result of the lack of public oversight and the policy of easing environmental licensing laws, which is widely advocated by the current government of Jair Bolsonaro and his Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, which want to apply this same policy to the Amazon region.

Yesterday, President Jair Bolsonaro, speaking to a group of prospectors, stated that "the interest in the Amazon isn't in the Indian or the fucking tree, it's in the ore." The statement took place in front of Planalto Palace after Bolsonaro received representatives of the group.

Bolsonaro wants to implement large-scale mining in the Amazon.

Champion municipalities of deforestation and burning in the Amazon are dominated by cattle and soy production; JBS, Bunge and Santander appointed as complicit in Amazon deforestation, study finds

According to the Jornal GGN website, seven of the ten most burned municipalities in Brazil in 2019 are also on the list of the most deforested. According to Paulo Moutinho, co-founder of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam), "deforestation advances with the fire going forward". Therefore, the fire would be the second step towards cattle and soy production. First, the areas are deforested. Then they are burned. The following are the productions of cattle and soy.

An investigation led by the NGO Amazon Watch, in partnership with Brazilian and European organizations, points out that large companies such as JBS, Bunge, and Santander are appointed as accomplices of Amazon deforestation.

According to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, "while illegal deforestation, burning, and occupation of cattle land are often run by independent groups of large exporters, the profit that keeps the thriving cycle in the Amazon is backed by global consumer chains commodities, especially wood, meat, and soy."

According to Folha, "the study coordinated by Amazon Watch has investigated business relationships of 56 Ibama-certified companies over the past two years with brands consumed in Europe and the United States."

According to the newspaper, "among the dozens of multinationals found as buyers of companies that have committed recent infractions are the largest Brazilian refrigerators, such as the JBS group, and soy production giants, such as Bunge and Cargill."