Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro offers credit for indigenous farmers

Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday reportedly said that his government is pushing a bill through Congress that would allow commercial mining and agriculture on protected indigenous lands in the Amazon rainforest. According to reports, Bolsonaro met tribal leaders from the community to offer a credit line that he claims would allow them to buy machines, seed, and fertilizers. Bolsonaro's comment came when he met around 20 indigenous leaders as the gate of the presidential palace where he also said that the tribals cannot be stuck inside their lands like prehistoric human beings. 

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As per media reports, the bill proposed by Bolsonaro on February 5 would also allow hydroelectric power projects along with mining and farming projects that were previously prohibited in the protected regions of the world's largest rainforest. Speaking alongside his Agriculture Minister, Bolsonaro said that the new credit line would lift the indigenous people out of poverty and would further integrate them into Brazilian society.

Read: Under Bolsonaro, Amazon Deforestation In Brazil Witnessed A 108% Increase In Jan

Brazil's main organisation representing the indigenous group said that most of the people from the community are opposed to the idea of opening their lands for commercial mining and agriculture. Sonia Guajajara, the head of the organisation accused Bolsonaro of trying to create a divide between the indigenous people by introducing the credit line. 

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Danger looming on Amazon rainforest

The estimated deforestation of the Amazon rainforest over the past decade is equivalent to nearly 8.4 million football pitches. The Royal Statistical Society announced Amazon deforestation as it Statistics of the Decade which is based on the monitoring results from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research and FIFA's regulations on pitch dimensions. The rainforests, which are more popularly known as 'planet's lungs' have suffered land scrapping for big businesses, and are currently being used by the palm oil industry, cattle ranching and for logging. 

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