Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro promotes gold mining in the Amazon

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»Garimpeiro« near Itaituba in the Brazilian state of Pará: Extensive gold prospecting

Photo: Nacho Doce / REUTERS

The government speaks of artisanal small-scale mining, but critics see powerful entrepreneurs as the masterminds: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has approved a plan to expand gold mining in the Amazon region.

A program created in this way is intended to promote the further development of mining methods, especially in the Amazon region, according to a publication in the government's official gazette.

A second decree aims to make it more difficult to punish gold prospectors.

"In practice, the decrees aim to legalize a predatory practice that is progressing and destroying the environment," commented the environmental organization Greenpeace.

Environmental groups have long been critical of deforestation and attacks on the local population.

Gold mining is widespread in the Amazon region.

Bolsonaro is a supporter of the economic use of the Amazon region and also wants to allow gold mining in indigenous areas, which has hitherto been illegal.

Critics accuse him of creating a social climate in which gold diggers and other invaders feel encouraged.

The government decrees mention artisanal small-scale mining;

in fact, financially strong entrepreneurs invest in the exploitation of indigenous areas with professional equipment.

Bolsonaro's father was a prospector himself

Illegal gold mining – called “garimpo” in Brazil – is often at the beginning of a chain, with loggers, ranchers and agricultural entrepreneurs following the prospectors.

The »garimpeiros« cut deep aisles in the forest.

Bolsonaro's own father was once a »garimpeiro«.

Last year, 125 square kilometers of land in the Amazon were devastated by gold prospectors.

A large part of this was on the reservations of the indigenous people.

Rivers are being polluted by the use of mercury in the extraction of gold dust from the earth.

According to the public prosecutor's office, there are links between the prospectors and organized crime.

Armed clashes between gold miners and locals have also been reported.

Small-scale mining is allowed in Brazil if there are permits.

But many of the prospectors don't have permits.

The government estimates that there are 4,000 prospectors operating on indigenous people's land in the Amazon.

Activists estimate that figure to be much higher.

Since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, Amazon clear-cutting has soared to a 15-year high of 13,235 square kilometers between August 2020 and July 2021.

mmq/dpa/AFP