The Brazilian environment minister, Ricardo Salles, who is under investigation for the deforestation of the Amazon, has resigned. “I have encountered a lot of hostility in these two and a half years,” said Salles. Since the beginning of his mandate, the Amazon deforestation rate has risen to record levels, and in recent times several investigations into irregularities and abuses have been launched. In recent weeks, the Supreme Court of Brazil has launched an investigation into the complaints of the former head of the federal police of the Amazon who accuses Salles of having tried to block an investigation into the illegal timber trade.
Salles is also at the center of another federal police investigation into allegations that he has weakened the government’s environmental agency’s inspections of timber exports. And at the time of the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, a recording of a conversation between Salles and President Bolsonaro was released during which the minister suggested exploiting the fact that media attention was focused on Covid to repeal environmental protections.
“Dear Ricardo Salles, you are part of history, the link between agriculture and the environment is almost a perfect marriage,” said Bolsonaro, who thanked him by still vindicating his government’s controversial policy of economic exploitation of agricultural, mineral and energy resources. Amazonia and appointing Joaquim Alvaro Pereira Leite as minister, who has headed the ministry’s Amazon secretariat since September 2020.
Greenpeace called Salles’ resignation “necessary”, but added that it does not believe it will bring about a change in the policy of Bolsonaro’s far-right government which will continue to degrade the environment and disregard the rights of indigenous peoples of the Amazon.