A leading non-profit has called for solidarity among the international community as Brazil’s controversial President-elect Jair Bolsonaro gets set to be sworn into office on January 1.
“Today’s inauguration of right-wing zealot Jair Bolsonaro to Brazil’s presidency ushers in a dangerous era for human rights, environmental safeguards, and the rule of law in the world’s fourth-largest democracy,” Christian Poirier, programme director of Amazon Watch said in a statement.
“President Bolsonaro intends to raze the Amazon and destroy indigenous rights in service of the Brazilian and international agribusiness and mining sectors, aided and abetted by foreign capital,” he added.
Poirier said that Amazon Watch would add its voice to Brazil’s national indigenous movement by mounting resistance to the Bolsonaro administration and calling for solidarity from the international community.
“The coming months will prove pivotal in demonstrating the ability of Brazilian social movements and their allies around the world to forestall President Bolsonaro’s most destructive policy proposals. As such, Amazon Watch is redoubling its work in solidarity with our embattled partners to push back against an agenda that portends dire consequences for the world’s largest rainforest and its stewards, as well as for global climate stability,” he said.
Amazon Watch is a non-profit organisation founded in 1996 to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin.