Bill to weaken environmental protection of the Amazon forest fails in Brazilian congress

Thursday, May 30th 2019 - 09:59 UTC

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An attempt by Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and lawmakers backed by big agriculture to weaken environmental laws protecting the Amazon forest and other biomes has failed, as Congress will not vote into law a decree that weakened existing legislation. Read full article

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:o))
REF: Environmental Protection:

It takes more than twenty years - 20 YEARS - to get back to the MINIMUM acceptable level of pollution + with a minimum Acceptable Environmental Conditions.

Whereas, the Ruling Political Parties plan for 4 years [MINIMUM] of being in power [to steal the public funds]!

So nobody is really interested in reducing Pollution [sound, air, water, land] + Improving the Climatic Conditions!

WAKE-UP!!!
May 30th, 2019 - 04:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Enrique Massot
Good for Congress. Excellent setback for this sinister character, who is nothing but an instrument of a few big corporations.

A ray of hope is the fact some agribusiness joined the environmentalists in sounding the alarm on the amnesty for polluters.

The most repugnant side of this assault on the Amazon rain forest is that, as soon as the forest is gone, the thin layer of fertile topsoil rapidly washes away and the land loses its productive capacity. Then, the companies move on to deforest more land, hence their permanent lobbying for lose rules.
May 31st, 2019 - 12:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
@Enrique Massot

In short:

: If there is NO Rain-Forest
-There will be NO [or less] Rain
: If there is less rain
- There will be fewer farms.
: If there are fewer/smaller farms
- There won't be sufficient food
: BR can then import food from China [or maybe from Saudi Arabia?] Or maybe the Brazilian Refugees may find a country where there is food [+ employment too!] So what exactly is the problem when there isn't any problem?
May 31st, 2019 - 01:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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Brasileiro
There is a combination of factors offered by the federal government that sound like stupid to a high degree. But it is not!

There is a whole game of neo-fascism behind every joke written and televised by this puppet government.
May 31st, 2019 - 01:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
@Brasileiro

REF: “There is a combination of factors offered by the federal government that sound like stupid to a high degree. But it is not!”

Thanx! That's quite revealing/relieving!
http://blogs.correiobraziliense.com.br/aricunha/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/edra-1-1-1-1-1-1.jpg
Jun 02nd, 2019 - 03:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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DemonTree
“who is nothing but an instrument of a few big corporations.”

Hey, that's unfair. Bozo is also an instrument for religious nutters, farmers who want to take other people's land, and the coup-loving military.
Jun 02nd, 2019 - 07:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Jack Bauer
Just to get the record straight, 1st, the so-called Decree is not a Decree (Law), but what they call here a “Medida Provisória” (Provisional Measure) and as the name says, has only 120 days validity, before the end of which, the Lower House of Congress must pass it (after which it goes to the Senate for approval) or it loses validity.
2nd, the MP nbr the article refers to is MP 867 (not 876), 'n is the one that extends by one year, the time for rural producers ('n agribusiness cos) to regularize their situation rgrdng deforestation 'n other environmental crimes OR, making it easier for them to keep on breaking the law...the good news is that the Senate has refused to put it on their agenda, so it loses validity tomorrow (03/6)

The bad news, is that with MP 867, others - good ones - will also lose their validity ; for ex., # 868 - an attempt to transfer the construction 'n management of public sanitation works to the private sector, which is the only way, medium term, to solve the serious lack of sanitation in most cities.
# 870 - refers to shrinking the size of government: reduces the number of ministries from 29 (as at end 2018) to 22, 'n the reallocation of the COAF to the Ministry of Justice. This last one is unlikely to be voted because Congress is loath to cut into its own flesh, and because it wants the COAF to lose its effectiveness once taken away from Moro. But Moro has said he will transfer his whole, hand-picked team, lock, stock 'n barrel, to Paulo Guedes if need be...and PG has said he will gladly accept.

# 876 refers to the elimination of red tape for individual 'n small companies, like for ex., reducing the time to open them, and become legally functional, from months, to hours.

@EM
“who is nothing but an instrument of a few big corporations”...while partially true, might be interesting to know, amongst them, besides British, Dutch 'n American interests, also Brazilian (Brazil Foods, JBS, Coopersucar). Not only 'nasty' foreigners.
Jun 02nd, 2019 - 09:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
@Jack Bauer

REF: # 868, etc

In the meanwhile:
https://www.otempo.com.br/image/contentid/policy:1.2189741:1559531734/CHARGE%20O%20TEMPO.jpg?f=3x2&w=940&$p$f$w=0f1a6e5
Jun 03rd, 2019 - 12:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Jack Bauer
@:o))
Yep, Road runner, “ a la Brazilian style”......maybe Wile E Coyote will catch him...
Jun 03rd, 2019 - 06:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
@Jack Bauer

REF: “a la Brazilian style”

http://www.chargeonline.com.br/semana/2019/claudio010619.jpg
Jun 03rd, 2019 - 07:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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DemonTree
@JB
It's unfortunate Congress is throwing out the good with the bad. I thought I read that they agreed to reducing the ministries, but insisted on transferring the Coaf back to Guedes?

@ :o))
Now I don't get it. She thinks they're kid's names?
Jun 03rd, 2019 - 08:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
@DemonTree

REF: She thinks they're kid's names?

You got it but I DIDN'T:
http://www.chargeonline.com.br/php/charges/son.jpg
Jun 04th, 2019 - 09:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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Jack Bauer
@DT
You are right...I was off by a couple of days...the reduction to 22 ministries had already been agreed to, after a lot of negotiationg back 'n forth - in the Lower House - at the cost of the COAF staying in the Ministry of the Economy. The next battle is in the Senate, where the govt will attempt to get the COAF returned to the Justice Department.
The reason is simple 'n logical...the COAF (part of the Executive Branch or, the Govt) was created in 1998, to track suspicious money movement, 'n punish those involved in money laundering. Until end 2018, it was part of the Finance Ministry, which in the restructuring /Administrative Reform, was incorporated into the Ministry of Economy, and the govt concluded the COAF would be best put to use if transferred to the Justice department, due to its investigative/punitive nature (corruption), nothing to do with financial planning.
Jun 04th, 2019 - 09:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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DemonTree
Doesn't make much sense that COAF was in the finance ministry, but reducing ministries good, right? Which ones have they got rid of? I just looked up what the UK had, and counted 25, but that includes the Brexit department, and offices for Scotland, Wales and NI, which should not apply to Brazil.
Jun 04th, 2019 - 11:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
@Jack Bauer / @DemonTree

REF: Reducing Ministries

Certainly!

They should ALSO reduce:
- Nº of Political Parties
- Nº of Politicians
- Nº of Political Assistants
- Unchecked Waste+Stealing [But it's too much to ask for]!
http://www.chargeonline.com.br/php/DODIA//amarildo.jpg
Jun 05th, 2019 - 01:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Jack Bauer
@DT
Under the PT there were 39 Ministries, many overlapping each other, and/or totally dispensable, created only to accomodate the (swollen) PT 'machine'.

Some of the Ministries were : of Women, Racial Equality & Human Rights / of Agrarian Development / of the Army / of Aeronautics, / of the Navy / of Fishing & Agriculture / of Administration & Reform of the State / of Regional Integration / of National Integration / of the Interior / of Housing & Social Well-Being / of Cities / of Industry & Commerce / of industry, Foreign Trade & Services...'n others.

Temer eliminated 10, leaving 29. The principle changes proposed by Bolsonaro (passed in the Lower House subject leaving the COAF in the Min of the Economy, 'n which the govt hopes to overturn in the Senate), translate into the elimination of some, the absortion of others by the Ministry of Justice, and by that of the Economy. Others, such as Culture & Sports have been absorbed by the Min of Education ; the Min of Planning & Development, of Finances, of Industry & Commerce and Foreign Trade, have gone to the Min of the Economy ; of Public Security has been absorbed by The Min of Justice.
In all, the Executive Branch has 16 departments with Ministerial status, 2 Secretariats and 4 agencies ...the last 6 (2 + 4) apparently do not require Ministerial status....Not sure but presume the advantages are, gives them less autonomy, means less complicated structures, 'n lower cost.
Since no essential functions have been eliminated, just transferred or moved around in a more rational structure, the result is less inefficiency and the removal of unnecessary, highly paid employees, which did little or nothing. Obviously, this has pissed of the PT 'n allies.

Just fyi, another MP, # 871 (combat fraud in the pension system), was passed just 3 hours before the deadline (midnight, 3rd June), by 56 votes to 12....of the 12, six were PT senators and the other six, their allies....but why vote against fighting fraud ?
Jun 05th, 2019 - 05:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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:o))
@Jack Bauer

REF: “Temer eliminated 10, leaving 29”:

That still sounds too many - could they be [+/-] 09?
http://www.chargeonline.com.br/semana/2019/iotti050619.jpg
Jun 06th, 2019 - 04:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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DemonTree
@JB
Normally the reason for having lots of Ministries is to share them out among parliamentary allies... So I wonder what B and Guedes are going to do to get support for the pension reform etc?

But in general there's no need for so many, and as long as they don't combine contradictory things I don't see the problem. Here in the UK, they did combine environment with the farming ministry (to make DEFRA), and it has a terrible reputation. Among other things, they cocked up dealing with the foot and mouth outbreak. Defra are the people who slaughtered irreplaceable rare breeds, children's pets, and literal sacred cows because that was the plan, despite the fact the infection had long since escaped containment. Cruel, inflexible and pointless bureaucracy personified.

“why vote against fighting fraud ?”

Strange. What reason did they give?
Jun 08th, 2019 - 11:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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