Brazil president says France’s Macron has ‘colonialist mentality’ over Amazon fires

645

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Brazilian President Jair
Bolsonaro blasted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron Thursday as having a
“colonialist mentality” for rallying G-7 countries to address wildfires
raging in the Amazon rainforest.

“The French president’s suggestion that Amazon issues be discussed at the
G-7 without participation by the countries in the region evokes a colonialist
mentality that is out of place in the 21st century,” Bolsonaro wrote on
Twitter.

Macron is using an issue that is a domestic one for Brazil and other
regional countries for personal political gain, Brazil’s leader said, calling
Macron’s tone “sensationalist.”

Macron tweeted earlier Thursday that fires burning in the Amazon amount to
an international crisis and should be discussed as a top priority when the G-
7 countries meet this weekend in France.

“Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rainforest — the lungs which
produce 20 percent of our planet’s oxygen — is on fire. It is an
international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let’s discuss this emergency
first order in two days!” Macron said on Twitter.

Bolsonaro noted that Macron’s tweet included a photo of a fire in the
Amazon that is at least 16 years old and has been seen often in recent days
on social media posts about the fires.