Rio de Janeiro • Rocked by global outrage and threats of economic losses over its handling of fires raging in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil on Saturday began a hastily planned military operation to battle the blazes and generate a “positive perception” of the country.
As of Saturday, at least four Brazilian states had formally requested military assistance to contain hundreds of fires, which have been burning for several weeks but plunged President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration into crisis mode only this past week after photographs began circulating widely.
The number of fires tracked by satellite this year is the highest since 2010.
Military officials said they had deployed two C-130 cargo planes equipped with firefighting tools to the state of Rondônia and were assessing how many of the nearly 44,000 troops based in the Amazon area to mobilize. In addition to Rondônia, the armed forces will support firefighting efforts in the states of Pará, Tocantins and Roraima.
The plan got underway hours after Bolsonaro — a longtime critic of Brazil’s strict, but sparsely enforced, environmental regulations — told the nation in a televised speech that the government would take a “zero tolerance” approach to environmental crimes.
That was a remarkable statement for a leader who has called environmental fines an “industry” that must be abolished and has pledged to make it easier for industries to access protected areas. Bolsonaro himself was issued a fine in 2012 for fishing in a protected area. The fine went unpaid.
Bolsonaro had dismissed concerns about the Amazon fires for days, but was moved to announce the military effort soon after European leaders threatened to cancel a major trade deal and calls for a boycott of Brazilian products resounded on social media.
Brazilian officials said the military was uniquely equipped to battle the fires and help enforce environmental laws. But restoring the country’s image was also at play.
Lt. Brig. Raul Botelho, the chief of the Armed Forces’ Joint Staff, said an important part of the mission was creating “a positive perception of the country.”