External image is Marina’s trump card in the clash with Petrobras – 05/19/2023 – Environment

Assistants and allies of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) believe that Brazil’s environmental image abroad will have a relevant weight in the government’s internal struggle over oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River.

Demonstrations of alignment of Lula’s speech with the agenda of Minister Marina Silva (Environment) also enliven the government’s environmentalist circle. However, it will be up to the president to arbitrate in the impasse that has gained political scope.

According to palace interlocutors, the Chief Executive should hit the hammer when he arrives next Tuesday (23) from his trip to Japan, where he is participating in the G7 meeting. At the meeting, sustainability and the environment will be two central themes in the discussions of the richest countries.

Government members fear that the case will scratch the international visibility of the government, which has presented itself as aligned with concerns about climate change. Politically, this is a way of opposing his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro (PL), criticized for a management marked by deforestation and disregard for the environment.

The fear is still that the repercussion of an eventual authorization for Petrobras in the episode could drive away foreign investment in the country – generating economic losses.

However, the political consequences of Lula’s involvement in the dispute will also be considered, according to the president’s allies, mainly in view of the involvement of influential parliamentarians, such as Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP).

The leader of the government in the Senate, Randolfe Rodrigues (AP), asked to leave Rede, Minister Marina’s party. Like Alcolumbre, he is in favor of oil exploration in the state.

This Wednesday (17), the president of Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), Rodrigo Agostinho, denied a request made by Petrobras to drill the basin at the mouth of the Amazon River with the aim of exploring oil in the region. .

The decision opposed ministers Marina Silva and Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy), who is an ally of Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG). Silveira wants to insist on releasing the Petrobras project. The state-owned company says it will appeal Ibama’s act.

In Lula’s absence, during the G7, Minister Rui Costa (Casa Civil) met with Marina this Thursday (18). At the meeting, she detailed the points on the environmental side of the dispute. Rui should also meet with Silveira and assist Lula in mediating the impasse.

Marina and Silveira had separate meetings with the acting president, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), this Friday (19). Officially, advisors to the ministers claim that the meetings were already scheduled in advance and that they were not to address the issue of oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon.

Two days before Ibama’s decision to deny the license for oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River, the minister participated in the seminar Challenges of the Lula government for the environment and climate, held by Sheet with the support of the Open Society Foundations, in which he recalled the Belo Monte episode.

The dispute surrounding the construction of the plant split the government and was one of the points that led to the departure of the then Minister of the Environment.

“It is undeniable that it has a very high environmental, symbolic and political impact,” said the minister about exploration in the region. “And everything will be considered from a technical point of view.”

Marina guaranteed that Ibama has autonomy in licensing processes and stated that she was never pressured to grant licenses by political decision. “In the case of Belo Monte, during my tenure, [a licença] was forwarded for studies,” he said.

Ibama only granted a license for the construction of the hydroelectric plant in February 2010, almost two years after Marina left the second Lula administration. His position against the project was, in fact, a reason for attrition with the president and triggered his departure from the portfolio at the time.

At this Monday’s seminar, the minister also defended an analysis that considered the impact of the set of projects on the watershed —and not just on a specific location.

_{The Planeta em Transe project is supported by the Open Society Foundations.}