Lula says that by the end of his current term, the government will begin to build BR-319

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that by the end of his current term he will begin construction of the BR-319 highway, a project criticized by environmentalists for opening a path through the middle of the Amazon that could be used by land grabbers and other agents of deforestation. He made the statement in Manaus, during a ceremony with mayors from the state of Amazonas to announce measures to mitigate the effects of droughts in the state.

“Instead of us fighting, I told Marina Silva, the Minister of the Environment, I told Rui Costa, the Minister of the Civil House, and I said at the meeting today: we are starting now with 52 km. We are going to hold all the meetings that are possible, listen to all the scientists that we need to listen to. And we have to be aware that we have to build that road and we need to ensure that the most noble part of the Amazon Rainforest is not destroyed by land grabbers, that when we think about building a road, we buy thousands of hectares on one side, thousands of hectares on the other, and set fire to it, we need to prohibit it,” said the President of the Republic.

Lula said that it will be necessary to form a partnership with the Amazonas government if there are state lands on the side of the road.

According to him, it is necessary to build BR with “the responsibility that Brazil and the world want”.