On Tuesday, at the United Nations General Assembly, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claimed indigenous individuals in the Amazon were to blame for this year’s rainforest fires.
Bolsonaro claimed the humidity of the Amazon inhibits the spread of fire, denying experts who claim that farmers use fire to clear freshly deforested land for animals to graze on.
Bolsonaro said in a pre-recorded speech:
“The fires practically occur in the same places, on the east side of the forest, where peasants and Indians burn their fields in already deforested areas,”
In the same speech, Bolsonaro criticized the media for spreading coronavirus related panic.
Brazil currently has the second-most deadly coronavirus outbreak in the world behind the United States, with more than 4.5 million confirmed cases and 137,445 fatalities.
The Panthera Post 