City Council ‘forgets’ Manaus under smoke and calls for peace in Israel

Manaus (AM) — The councilors of the Manaus City Council (CMM) left aside issues such as the fires and the drought that affects Amazonas, to show support for Israel, which has been under attack by the terrorist group Hamas since last Saturday (7). Nineteen councilors, the majority of whom are evangelicals, decorated their benches with the country’s flag while once again, Manaus is covered in smoke caused by fires in the Amazon.

On social media, Manaus citizens demonstrated anger over the lack of positions and solutions from the councilors of the Manaus Chamber (CMM), about the smoke that once again covered the city, and called on the population to protest in front of the Amazonas Legislative Assembly (Aleam) .

One of the messages of repudiation, a citizen complains about the direction of public money that Manaus councilors are directing and places an image of the councilors on their benches with the Israeli flag.

“At least 500,000 people in Amazonas are at risk of going hungry during the extreme drought we are experiencing. Initiated and orchestrated fires taking place every day in Amazonas. Smoke suffocating people. What councilors paid with public money in Manaus do.”

he declared.

On Tuesday (10), councilor Marcel Alexandre (Avante) at CMM began his speech by reading an excerpt from the Bible. “Our feet are within your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built like the compact city where the tribes of the Lord come. This morning, when we spread our flags, we extended our love and solidarity to the entire region.”he said.

On his networks, the councilor published a photo next to the country’s flags, the post received several negative comments. An internet user commented on the lack of criteria for voters to elect their leaders. “This is shameless, Manauaras should think about who comes back, none of these councilors are thinking about the fires that are happening and the drought”.

“The guys doing media with the churches and the population of Manaus getting sick from so much smoke…! It’s true”,

comments another internet user.

“Meanwhile Manaus dawns with smoke, with unhealthy air quality, because these politicians do nothing”,

declared in another person.

The councilor who took a stand in the Chamber on Monday (09), Captain Carpê (Republicans) presented a request requesting planning for inspections of arson in the municipality.

“What falls to the municipal sphere is the action of the Municipal Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainability (SEMMAS). In my statements I have drawn attention to how small the budget of this department is, which is extremely important for monitoring and preventing environmental crimes. I carried out a survey that shows that the SEMMAS budget represents only 8% of the amount spent on advertising in 2022 and 2023 by the municipal executive . I am sure that the time has come for City Hall to rethink its priorities”,

said the councilor to Em Tempo.

To Em Tempo, the councilor declared that he agrees that the Chamber’s priority should be focused on the problems of Manaus.

“I took a stance on social media about the situation happening in Israel, including expressing solidarity with the Israelis, but I did not bring the matter to the plenary precisely because I understand that there are more urgent matters that demand our attention. My recent performance shows that, despite taking a stance on the issue, my priority is to propose solutions and alternatives to combat the fires that occur in Amazonas”

said the councilor.

Captain Carpê concluded by stating that he is considering reinforcing the importance of environmental education, as he has already “proposed” a few times in the City Council and that possible bills are being studied to act in this direction.

“I believe that what can make a difference is to act to debate the next budget and allow SEMMAS to have more investment and power to combat environmental crimes in Manaus, something that I am committed to fighting to make a reality”,

stated

Only, this Wednesday (11), after public speeches, the president of the Manaus City Council (CMM), councilor Caio André (Podemos), asked for the urgent hiring of temporary agents to monitor the fires in the capital and in interior of Amazonas. The parliamentarian formalized recommendations to the State Government and Manaus City Hall, asking that the hiring be made.

“The city of Manaus is experiencing days of terror with this smoke, causing great harm to the entire population, causing more respiratory diseases. This is worrying and we are making a recommendation to the City of Manaus and another to the State Government, so that they can hire, on a temporary basis, more inspectors to fight these fires that are spreading not only in the city of Manaus, but mainly in the Metropolitan Region” ,

detailed Caio André.

The Federal Government authorized the sending of agents from the National Public Security Force to reinforce the fight against burning and forest fires in municipalities in the south of Amazonas. The ordinance was published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Tuesday (10).

The Federal University of Amazonas (Ufam) released Ordinance 1985/2023, informing classes remotely that will take place, on an exceptional basis, due to air quality. authorizing remote classes this Wednesday, due to air quality conditions in Amazonas .

Caio André also highlighted that techniques for “cleaning” land in interior municipalities contribute to the smoke screen that takes over the city.

“I was in the city of Autazes and on the Manoel Urbano highway (AM-070) and almost all properties are using coivara, burning, bringing this enormous pollution. We need supervision to combat these fires, which are already causing serious problems for the health of our population”,

added the president of CMM.

See what Manaus City Hall says

The smoke that once again covered the capital of Amazonas, originates in the municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Manaus, according to data from the Queimadas program, from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) and were collected by the City of Manaus, via the Municipal Department of Environment Environment and Sustainability (Semmas).

According to data from Inpe, in the last two days, 504 fires were recorded in Amazonas, with the municipality of Autazes, 111 kilometers from Manaus, recording 105, representing 20.8% of the total recorded in Amazonas.

In addition to Autazes, the municipalities of Careiro (50 fires), Careiro da Várzea (26 fires), Itacoatiara (24 fires) and Manacapuru (18) are among the ten municipalities that recorded the most fires in the last two days, according to the data from Inpe.

Manaus, in this same period, recorded three fires, all in rural areas, two near BR-174, the highway that connects Roraima and Amazonas, and the third was recorded near the Nossa Senhora de Nazaré community, on the river Amazon.

This Wednesday, the mayor of Manaus, David Almeida, and the head of the Municipal Secretariat of Public Security and Social Defense (Semseg), Sérgio Fontes, participate in a press conference on the smoke that covers the capital of Amazonas.

Featured on Aleam

Smoke haze and poor air quality were also highlighted in the speeches during the Special Session, this Wednesday, at the Amazonas Legislative Assembly (Aleam).

The vice-president of the Legislative House, deputy Carlinhos Bessa (PV) drew attention to the consequences of contaminated air on the population’s health. The parliamentarian highlighted that today the population is living in the middle of smoke, with the capital and interior completely polluted.

“This will cause great harm to public health. The state needs to monitor and punish those who carry out such acts, considering that we are living in a delicate moment of ecological disaster with the drought, a situation made worse by the smoke”, he emphasized. Bessa also said that the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam) needs to put more inspectors on the streets. “If we don’t take action, the damage to public health will be great. So, control bodies need to prevent and inhibit these environmental crimes, because just putting out fires is no use”,

warned.

Commenting on the situation, deputy Sinésio Campos (PT) cited the international quality monitoring panel World’s Air Pollution, which gathers data from sensors around the world, including the Electronic Environmental Surveillance System (Selva), which classified Manaus as the second worst place in the world to breathe and the need for environmental education.

“This Wednesday, Manaus is the second city with the most polluted air due to smoke. The fires occur as a kind of preparation for planting because the ash corrects the acidic PH of our soil, making it good for planting. I agree that inspection and control must take place, but environmental education needs to be carried out. Limestone could be distributed to producers because it is an ecologically cleaner way or at least sold at a subsidized price so people can purchase it”,

pointed.

Also regretting the air quality classification, state deputy Joana Darc (UB), president of the Commission for the Protection of Animals, the Environment and Sustainable Development, called for effective environmental protection actions.

“We have the second worst air quality in the world and this is very serious. People are taking the opportunity to set fire to land to explore illegal activities. The Amazon cannot just be used as a speech stage, we need help globally and nationally”,

he stated.

Read more:

Smoke that covers Manaus is a topic of debate at Aleam

Understand why Manaus dawned covered in smoke

Video shows one of the fires that has caused smoke in Manaus