08/25/2024 – 17:36
The Federal Police have decided to open two investigations to investigate alleged criminal actions in the fires occurring in the interior of São Paulo. The matter was discussed in a meeting on the afternoon of Sunday, the 25th, between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the director-general of the Federal Police, Andrei Passos, ministers Marina Silva (Environment) and Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations) and the president of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), Rodrigo Agostinho.
Twenty-nine investigations have already been opened in the country to investigate fires in the Pantanal and Amazon. “The investigations are to determine whether there was intentional action, in the case of São Paulo. In the other cases, there are strong suspicions, yes, of intentional action. São Paulo is also under investigation, which is why it is being investigated,” said Marina, in a press conference after the meeting, which took place at Ibama’s National Center for the Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires (PrevFogo) in Brasília.
The minister stressed that the opening of the investigations by the Federal Police is also related to the impact on air transport, with the suspension of activities at airports due to the smoke. “It is a real war against fire and crime,” declared Marina.
“In São Paulo, it is not normal, under any circumstances, that in just a few days there would be so many fire fronts simultaneously involving several municipalities,” she added, describing the situation as “atypical.” According to Marina, there are suspicions that a new “Day of Fire” may be happening, as the episode in which rural producers from the North Region took joint action to set fire to areas of the Amazon in 2019 became known.
According to the minister, Lula’s guidance at the extraordinary meeting on the fires was for federal authorities to work together with governors and mayors to combat the fires.
“Specifically in relation to São Paulo, we mobilized our 15 police stations spread throughout the interior, our regional superintendence, coordinated by the Amazon Environment Directorate in Brasília, so that we can identify the issues involving the fires,” said Andrei Passos. The PF director stated that two investigations are necessary in SP because there are different territorial jurisdictions.
For Padilha, there must be a crime involved in the fires. “My grandmother says that ‘if there is smoke, there is fire’. If she were alive, she would say ‘if there is a coordinated fire at the same time, in an atypical way, there must be a crime’”, stated the minister.
The government has made available aircraft from the Armed Forces to help fight the fires, but according to Marina, one of them was unable to take off in Brasília because of the smoke in the sky. The minister said that the smoke in the federal capital is the result of fires in the city’s surroundings and in other regions.
Marina also defended the government’s actions against fires and said that if deforestation had not been reduced last year, the situation would be worse today.
“The federal government is responsible for federal areas and conservation units, but we operate in all areas, including private properties. Unlike deforestation, you don’t have an agent inside your farm or home checking to see if you’re going to set fire to something. Therefore, there’s no way to say it’s a failure, because awareness campaigns and all the processes are being carried out,” he said.
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