Brazilian president blocks the deregulation of 1.4m acres, under international pressure, but a new bill seeks to open Amazon forests to farming and mining
Brazil’s president Michel Temer has vetoed a bill that would have lowered protections on 1.4 million acres of land – much of it in the Amazon rainforest.
The measures would have downgraded the protections on the forests to the lowest level under Brazilian law, which would allow farming and mining activities. They had been championed by the beef industry and passed through Congress by a powerful group of politicians aligned with agricultural interests.
Only Temer’s veto could maintain the protections and on Monday night, shortly after being publicly lobbied by Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, he said he would block the bill.
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