Lula gave us a deadline to present the restructuring of Civil Defense, says Rui Costa

The Chief of Staff, Rui Costa, said on Tuesday, the 17th, that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “gave the government a short deadline” to present a restructuring of the Civil Defense. Costa also said that the Chief of Staff should discuss with governors a restructuring of the Fire Department and that specialized firefighting aircraft should be purchased by the government.

The president (Lula) gave us a short deadline to present a restructuring of the Civil Defense. We will discuss with the states a restructuring of the fire department, with equipment. We will buy firefighting aircraft. We are using aircraft from the Armed Forces, which are not necessarily the most appropriate for this type of combat,” declared the minister.

According to Rui Costa, the idea is to have a regional structure to combat fires. The minister said that the president determined a “set of proposals” that “are in progress and being detailed by the government”. He also argued that “there is a large proportion of arsons” in the country, although it is not possible to state the proportion of what is criminal and what is not.

Rui Costa’s report was made during a meeting with President Lula and the presidents of the three branches of government to discuss measures to combat the fires.

Environmental safety

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that he intends to take to the next Mayors’ March a list of demands to municipal administrations regarding the need for structures for environmental security.

The statements were made on Tuesday, the 17th, during a meeting with authorities from the three branches of government at the Planalto Palace. On the occasion, representatives from the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches discussed actions against the fires in Brazil.

“This is a topic I want to discuss with the next Mayors’ March. Instead of them just bringing a list of demands, we will give them a list of demands that each City Hall has to have a brigade, each City Hall has to have people specialized in Civil Defense,” he said.

Lula continued: “Because it is not a problem for the federal government. In other words, when there is a problem in Roraima, when there is a problem in Acre, it is a problem that has to have the structure to take care of it and not have to rely on the federal government for help.”