Brazilian President Bolsonaro orders deployment of troops to combat Amazon wildfires

“The Amazon rainforest is an essential part of our history, our territory and everything that makes us feel,” Bolsonaro said. “Being Brazilian, our wealth is invaluable both in terms of biodiversity and natural resources.”

Bolsonaro, a right-wing politician, had rejected claims that his government was at fault for negatively impacting the wildfires through policies aimed at deforestation in favor of business development. Facing international criticism, he initially defended his policies and accused other countries of running a “fake news campaign” and seeking to undermine Brazil’s sovereignty.

“These countries that send money here, they don’t send it out of charity,” Bolsonaro said in a live broadcast on Thursday. “They send it with the aim of interfering with our sovereignty.”

Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research announced that 2,254 square kilometers of the Amazon were eliminated in July, marking a 278% increase from the same period one year ago. The INPE also reported a 90% increase in deforestation in June from the same month last year.

Bolsonaro also accused nongovernmental agencies such as the INPE of starting the wildfires to intentionally harm his public image.

The Amazon produces 20% of the world’s oxygen and is considered crucial to sustaining life on Earth. The rainforest is also a hub of incredible biodiversity and is vital to combating climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. But experts say the current wildfires are sending huge amounts of toxic greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere.

Worldwide protests have been held in condemnation of Bolsonaro’s climate policies, and Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz advocated for the U.S. to cease all monetary contributions to Brazil until the blazes are extinguished.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is playing a crucial role in this weekend’s G-7 summit in France, also referred to the wildfires as an “international crisis.”