BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday accused non-governmental organizations of burning down the Amazon rainforest to hurt his government, as a growing global outcry against the wildfires raged through social media. Presented without evidence
1 / 3FILE PHOTO: A charred trunk is seen on a tract of Amazon jungle that was recently burned by loggers and farmers in IrandubaBy Anthony Boadle and Gabriel Stargardter
#PrayforAmazonas was the world's top trending topic on Twitter on Wednesday, and millions of people took to Instagram and Facebook to share concerns over the future of the Amazon. With global awareness growing, Bolsonaro's comments risk creating a spiralling crisis for his government, imperilling an EU-Mercosur trade pact and upsetting key agribusiness clients.
Environmental and climate experts labelled his claims that NGOs were responsible a"smoke screen" to hide his government's dismantling of protections for the world's largest tropical rainforest. They said farmers clearing land were responsible for the uptick in fires. Story continuesCongressman Nilto Tatto, leader of the lower house environment caucus, said Bolsonaro's"stunning" attack on NGOs was an attempt to obscure his administration's destruction of 30 years of Brazilian environmental protections.
Former presidential candidate and environment minister Marina Silva took to Twitter to criticize Bolsonaro.
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