The controversial statements of Bolsonaro in his speech at the UN

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Jair Bolsonaro at the 74th UN General Assembly. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

(CNN Spanish) - “The Amazon is not being devastated or consumed by fires as the media say erroneously and deceptively. You can now come and see through your own eyes what I am saying and meet Brazil. It is a very different country from the one portrayed in the media ”. Thus spoke the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
WATCH: LIVE: 74 UN General Assembly

The president was one of the first to speak and much of his speech was devoted to talk about the recent forest fires in the Amazon that captured worldwide attention. Bolsonaro denied that the forest is being destroyed by the flames and said some countries took advantage of this to question their sovereignty.

“Resorting to these fallacies some countries instead of helping embarked with the lies of the media and with a colonialist spirit questioning our sovereignty, the most sacred. A meeting with 7 countries applied sanctions to Brazil and we did not agree with this absurd proposal. ”

In August, CNN reported that Brazil has 85% more fires than last year. The state of Rondonia has 6,436 fires burning so far this year, according to the National Space Research Institute (INPE) of Brazil. NASA said the state has become one of the most deforested states in the Amazon.

Bolsonaro added that it is a "fallacy" to say that the Amazon is the lung of the world and a world heritage site.

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The president of Brazil has a point about the argument of the lung of the world. It is not a true statement, as there is a very large reserve of oxygen in the atmosphere and the net contribution of the Amazon to this reserve is quite small. The Amazon forest produces a huge amount of oxygen every year by photosynthesis, but also consumes a huge amount every year by breathing; Yes, trees breathe. The net flow of oxygen that remains in the atmosphere varies from year to year, but on average it is close to zero.

“My Government has committed to the defense of the environment and sustainable development. Brazil is one of the richest countries in biodiversity and mineral resources and we are one of the countries that most protects its environment, ”added the president on the Amazon issue.

The rainforests of the Amazon in Brazil are burning at the highest rate since the country's space research center began monitoring in 2013.

More than two thirds of the Amazon are in Brazil and environmental groups blame the government of President Jair Bolsonaro for the increase in deforestation because, they say, he has relaxed controls in the country. In the middle of this year, the head of the Inpe was fired after an argument with Bolsonaro about deforestation data.

LOOK: Myths and truths about fires in the Amazon

Environmental groups have been campaigning for a long time to save the Amazon, blaming the president for endangering the vital rainforest. Bolsonaro said the recent wave of fires in the Amazon may have been caused by non-governmental organizations.

“A country that has been saved from socialism”

Bolsonaro began his speech by presenting his country as one “that has been saved from socialism,” referring to the previous leftist governments of Dilma Rousseff and Inácio Lula da Silva. In addition, the president lashed out at Cuba and Venezuela.

"Venezuela was a democratic country, but now it suffers the cruelty of socialism, everyone is poor, they have no freedom," he said.

In addition, the president of Brazil said that "there are 60,000 Cuban agents who control and mix in all areas of Venezuelan society, especially intelligence and defense."

Faced with the statement, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez spoke on Twitter calling Bolsonaro's words "slander."

I strongly reject Bolsonaro's slander about #Cuba and international medical cooperation. Delirium and long for the times of the military dictatorship. It should deal with corruption in its justice, government and family system. It is the leader of the increase in inequality in Brazil

- Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) September 24, 2019

AmazonasJair Bolsonaro