Large Parts of the Brazilian Amazon Burn as President Bolsonaro Blames NGOs

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In late August 2019, a large number of wildfires in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil kindled a firestorm of media coverage worldwide. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro initially seemed to ignore the emergency, and then switched to blaming environmental groups for starting the fires to discredit him. His environmental minister blamed seasonal natural causes. Satellite images have revealed nearly 73,000 forest fires in Brazil in the first eight months of the year, the highest number for any year since 2013, all over the Amazon. Observers in Latin American media weighed in to discuss the fires’ causes, the Brazilian government’s responses, and offered thoughts on what is to be done about the crisis.

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