08/25/2024 – 16:33
The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva suspects that the fires that have been ravaging the country, especially in the interior of São Paulo, were caused by criminal coordination. Authorities compare the events to a new “Day of Fire”, in which farmers from Novo Progresso (PA) called for a mobilization to burn the region in 2019.
With the increasing fires in the state of São Paulo, President Lula met with Minister Marina Silva (Environment and Climate Change) at the National Center for the Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires (Prevfogo) on the afternoon of Sunday, the 25th, in Brasília, to discuss actions to combat the events.
Accompanying Lula were the president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, the general director of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, the minister Alexandre Padilha (Secretariat of Institutional Relations) and the first lady Rosângela Silva.
Marina stated that 31 investigations have already been opened by the Federal Police to investigate allegedly criminal fires throughout the country. One of them concerns the fires in São Paulo, and a second should also be opened in the coming days regarding the same region.
“This is a criminal act by someone who is criminally setting fires. It is a war against fire and against crime,” said the minister.
Earlier, Marina stated on her X account (formerly Twitter) that the federal government sent a Brazilian Air Force plane, the KC-390, to help fight the fire that has been ravaging the state of São Paulo in recent days. The aircraft, however, was unable to operate due to the dense smoke fog.
The number of fire outbreaks recorded in August in the State of São Paulo is the highest for any month in the cities of São Paulo since 1998, when records began to be computed by the Burnings Program of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Marina spoke with the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) on the evening of Saturday the 24th, to show solidarity and made herself available to “jointly face this situation, intensified by strong winds and drought”.
Tarcísio, in turn, said this Sunday that the state is sending humanitarian aid to those left homeless by the fires. “They are in shelters. We are sending mattresses, water, hygiene kits and basic food baskets. Then, we will address the housing issue,” he said at a press conference held in Ribeirão Preto, one of the most affected cities.
The governor, however, did not say how many people are homeless or how many homes have been damaged by the wave of fires that is hitting the interior of São Paulo. According to the bulletin, published at 10:41 am, there are 21 cities facing active fire outbreaks. In total, there are 46 municipalities on high alert for fires.
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