Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 18, said on Saturday (24) that President Jair Bolsonaro (non-party) is not “taking seriously” his responsibility for the climate after cutting nearly 240 million reais from the ministry of ‘Environment.
On Twitter, she highlighted an excerpt from a report by British newspaper The Guardian and slammed the president: “’Bolsonaro has approved a 24% cut in the environment budget in 2021 from levels in the last year, just a day after promising to increase spending to tackle deforestation. ”Oops… It’s almost like our“ climate leaders ”aren’t taking this seriously.”
On Friday (23), the Brazilian president formalized a reduction in resources for the area linked to climate change, the fight against forest fires and the promotion of environmental conservation projects. The day before, he had promised, in a speech at the Summit of the leaders on the climate, convened by the American government, to double the resources to fight against illegal deforestation.
In addition to not appearing in the budget, the pledge to double the resources for environmental inspection will depend on a reduction in other areas to accommodate the additional resources, since the budget forecast is at the limit of the ceiling of spending – a norm that prevents spending growth exceeding inflation.
Earlier this week, Greta told a virtual WHO (World Health Organization) press conference on Monday (19) that Bolsonaro “had not taken responsibility for preserving current and future living conditions. of humanity ”, referring to the management of the environment and the Covid-19 pandemic by the Brazilian government.
Bolsonaro has not responded to the activist’s most recent criticisms, but the friction between them is not new.
In December 2019, he called Greta a brat when asked about the killing of natives: “What is the name of that girl over there? From the outside? Greta. Greta has already said that the Indians died because they were defending the Amazon. The press It’s impressive to make room for a brat like that. Brat. ” On this occasion, Greta reacted to the insult by putting the word “brat” in the description of her profile on social networks.
The Swede gained worldwide attention in 2019, when she launched a student strike movement that has spread to several countries to pressure the authorities to take more incisive measures to fight the climate crisis. Since then, the activist has been considered a spokesperson for the environmental cause.
Bolsonaro has been criticized around the world both for the Brazilian government’s environmental policies and for the worsening pandemic in the country. In his speech to the Climate Summit, Bolsonaro ignored criticism and said Brazil is at the forefront of the fight against global warming.