The dialogue took place during Lula’s visit to the Prevfogo fire situation room at Ibama in Brasília
The president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Sunday (Aug. 25, 2024) that he suspects intentional action in fires in the Amazon, the Pantanal and, above all, in São Paulo. The PT member expressed his point of view to the general director of the PF (Federal Police), Andrei Rodrigues, during a visit to the National Center for Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires, based at Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) in Brasília.
“What the president of Ibama said: So far they have not been able to detect any fires caused by lightning. It means that there are people setting fires in the Amazon, in the Pantanal”the president said to Andrei. He was interrupted by the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva. “Probably in Sao Paulo”he stated.
Lula, then, was more emphatic with the PF director: “Probably not. Especially in São Paulo. Everything there is private property, sugarcane fields, farms.”.
The president participated in a meeting with authorities such as the president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, the director general of the Federal Police, the National Secretary of Civil Defense, Wolnei Barreiros and Marina.
The Environment Minister said there was suspicion of intentional action in the fires.
“Unlike deforestation, you don’t have an agent inside your farm or your house to see if he’s going to set it on fire. Therefore, you can’t say it was a mistake because awareness campaigns and all the processes are being carried out, which is why investigations are underway to determine whether there was intentional action in the case of São Paulo. In other cases, there are strong suspicions of intentional action. In São Paulo as well, that’s why it’s being investigated.”declared Marina.
The minister stated that the PF (Federal Police) opened 31 inquiries to investigate the fires in the Amazon, the Pantanal (29 investigations) and the State of São Paulo (2 investigations).
“This is an atypical situation. In one week, practically in two days, you start to see several municipalities burning at the same time. This is not part of our experience curve.”he said.
The president was asked if the fires were criminal. He nodded to reporters but did not respond. Padilha said that “if there is smoke”, “has coordinated fire”.
The state of São Paulo recorded 2,621 fire outbreaks in 48 hours, according to information released by Inpe on Saturday morning (August 24). This year, the state has recorded 5,278 outbreaks, the highest number of fires in the historical series started by the institute in 1998.
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