Disagreements between Marina Silva and politicians from Amazonas reignite discussion of BR-319

Brasilia DF) – The testimony of the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva (Rede), during the hearing of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), yesterday (27), generated criticism from Amazonian parliamentarians, mainly regarding economic viability , social and environmental of BR-319.

The president of the CPI, senator Plínio Valério (PSDB), questioned the functionality of entities and other environmental issues, including the completion of the highway. Furthermore, he recalled the crisis faced by Amazonas in January 2021, which resulted in the deaths of people due to lack of oxygen in hospitals. According to him, Br-319 would facilitate the arrival of oxygen cylinders and other inputs in the state.

The isolation of Amazonas from the rest of the country, by land, was also pointed out by federal deputy Saullo Vianna (União), when it affects 4 million Brazilians. The parliamentarian was in favor of the proposal to form a Working Group within the Federal Government to evaluate the hypothesis of using the Amazon Fund to complete the works on BR-319, carried out by the Minister of Transport, Renan Filho (MDB).

“BR-319 is our only alternative road connection from Amazonas to the country. The economic problems of our logistical isolation are known. For more than 40 years we have suffered from the Amazon cost being higher than the Brazil cost, which burdens our productive activity and impedes our economic growth”,

he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when the oxygen crisis occurred, the paving of the highway was under the responsibility of the Bolsonaro Government, with Ricardo Salles as Minister of the Environment and, later, Joaquim Álvaro Pereira Leite. The department, during this period, was managed under guidelines contrary to environmental preservation.

The minister, in her statement, emphasized that Amazonas has senators, federal deputies, and even had a vice-president of the Republic, in relation to Hamilton Mourão (Republicans), during the Bolsonarist administration, and, despite this, she did not build the road in last 15 years.

The speech is related to the fact that Marina Silva left the Ministry of the Environment in 2008, in the second term of the Lula Government, and only returned in 2023, more than a decade later. After Marina, Carlos Minc, Izabella Teixeira, Sarney Filho, Ricardo Salles and Joaquim Leite have already held the position.

The president of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Amazonas (Aleam), state deputy Roberto Cidade (União), said he was outraged by the statement made by the minister and also highlighted the social interest in the full operation of the highway.

“We want BR-319 because we see it as a real and viable opportunity for economic and social prosperity for our State. Once again, I and the other state deputies of Amazonas repudiate Minister Marina’s lack of commitment to the people of the North, of which she is also a part. However, she insists on turning her back. The North, the Amazon and the Amazonians deserve respect”,

repudiated.

The work requires three fundamental requirements to obtain the license that allows its completion, according to Marina, environmental, economic and social viability must be proven, the purpose of which contributes positively and productively to society.

“I have no doubt that people want the right to come and go, but the economic and environmental viability, unless it is to convert areas of more than 400 kilometers of virgin forest into another type of activity, is not viable. Environmentally and economically, you don’t build a 400 km road in the middle of the virgin forest, just for driving if it is not associated with a productive project”, he stated during the session.

The choice of the expression “car ride” resulted in criticism from Amazonian politicians and on social media.

“Once again, Minister Marina Silva publicly demonstrates her contempt for BR-319. This time, she adds a mocking tone by referring to our right to come and go as “caring.” Furthermore, the minister highlights environmental viability as more relevant than the people who need BR-319 to survive. Know that no matter what the cost, we will not give up on BR-319!”, declared state deputy Fausto Junior (União), in a post on social media.

State deputy Silas Câmara (Republicans) also took a stance against the statement, saying that Marina Silva made an “unfortunate speech”, as are all the speeches regarding BR-319 and, consequently, with the Amazonians and other states Of region.

On his social media profile, the president of the CPI continued his criticism of the Minister of the Environment, stating that she “pretends to ignore” the social and economic importance of the highway.

“It crosses the skies in jets and Boeings, but poor mortals from the North do not have the right to the only route that connects Manaus to the rest of the country. (…) Black or orange box, Pandora’s box, the important thing is that the CPI of NGOs has opened wide for Brazil, the dangerous underworld of these organizations that act against the country, with the connivance of the state environmental apparatus commanded by Minister Marina Silva”, he said.

Final stretch

The CPI of NGOs has a schedule set for the next actions. According to Plínio, the municipality of São Félix do Xingu, in Pará, a place of conflict, will be visited to check and collect statements and images.

“We are in the final stretch, now everyone is traveling to COP28, but we have the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) and Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Rio Negro (FOIRN) still on the agenda, which are more visible at the time. We think that the arrival of Marina, which we anticipated, would close everything we investigated, not only from the NGOs, but mainly from Ibama and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio)”, he concluded.

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