Reuters is reporting that Bolsonaro signed off on the 2021 federal budget that included 2 billion reais ($365.30 million) for the Environment Ministry and agencies it oversees, down from 2.6 billion initially approved last year, according to the official government gazette.
Bolsonaro’s move on Friday seems to go completely against his pledge on Thursday during President Joe Biden’s Climate Summit to double the budget for environmental enforcement and end illegal deforestation by 2030.
“The gesture of giving a speech yesterday isn’t enough,” said Congressman Rodrigo Agostinho, leader of the environmental caucus in Congress. “Brazil’s government needs to do its homework.”
Bplsonaro also vetoed a list of environmental budget provisions worth 240 million reais, including outlays for environmental enforcement. (One dollar is equal to 5.4749 reais).
It seems that Bolsonaro’s office and Brazil’s Economy Ministry are not on the same page because the Brazilian president’s office directed questions to the Economy Ministry. The ministry said the environmental budget was now in line with what the president had originally proposed – and the vetoes counteracted spending increases approved by Congress, per The Guardian.
In any case, a detailed budget listing individual expenditures has yet to be released, so it is not exactly clear how much has been allocated for environmental enforcement. However, a breakdown of Bolsonaro’s vetoes listed 11.6 million reais being cut from the enforcement budget.
