‘We appreciate the offer, but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe.’
On Monday, the leaders at the G7 summit offered $20 million (approximately €18 million) to help fight the fires currently raging in the Amazon rainforest.
The majority of this was to be spent on fire-fighting aircraft, but the immediate response online by the general public was the the amount was almost entirely insignificant.
Comparatively, actor Leonardo DiCaprio pledged $5 million by himself to help fight the forest fires.
However, Brazil has since rejected the offer, Onyx Lorenzoni, chief of staff to Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, told Brazilian news site G1 News, and these statements were later confirmed by French news outlet AFP.
Initially, Brazilian environment Minister Ricardo Salles had said they welcomed the offer, but after a meeting with Bolsonaro and his ministers, the Brazilian government announced a change of course.
“We appreciate (the offer), but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe. Macron cannot even avoid a foreseeable fire in a church that is a world heritage site. What does he intend to teach our country?” said Lorenzoni.
“Brazil is a democratic, free nation that never had colonialist and imperialist practices, as perhaps is the objective of the Frenchman Macron.”
The chief of staff also told Macron that he should take care of “his home and his colonies.”
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