The Brazilian president has accused Macron, and the other members of the G7, of treating Brazil like "a colony." This came after the leaders at the summit in Biarritz dedicated $20 million to the wildfires in the Amazon.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Witt
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The war of words between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and French President Emmanuel Macron showed no signs of abating on Monday.
Macron announced that the G7 had agreed to offer financial support in fighting the Amazon wildfires, but his comments did not go down well with his Brazilian counterpart.
"We cannot accept that a president, Macron, unleashes unreasonable and gratuitous attacks on the Amazon, nor that he disguises his intentions behind the idea of a G7 'alliance' to 'save' the Amazon, as if we were a colony or a no-man's-land," Bolsonaro tweeted.
Macron said G7 leaders were pledging $20 million (€18 million) toward the cause in the Amazon, and that they would back a broader initiative for the region to be presented at the United Nations General Assembly next month.
Facebook feud
Bolsonaro's latest broadside comes on the back of comments the Brazilian president made about his opposite number's wife, Brigitte Macron, on social media, which the French president described as "extraordinarily disrespectful."
In a Facebook post that compared photos of the two leaders' wives with the caption: "Now do you understand why Macron is persecuting Bolsonaro?" Brazil's president wrote: "Don't humiliate the guy. Hahaha."
Macron responded by saying: "I think that the Brazilians, who are great people, are a bit ashamed to see this behavior," before adding, "I hope that they can soon have a president who behaves in an appropriate way."
As a further backdrop to the verbal dispute, the French leader last week accused Bolsonaro of lying about his environmental commitments.
Popularity plunge
Meanwhile, the Brazilian president's green policies came under greater scrutiny than ever from his own people amid widespread demonstrations.
Furthermore, his approval rating has dropped from 39% in February to 29.4%, according to a poll by CNT/MDA on Monday.
The poll, which also saw Bolsonaro's personal disapproval rating increase to 53.7%, from 28.2%, was conducted between August 22 and August 25.
The Amazon burns, Bolsonaro feels the heat
Demonstrations have been held around the world lamenting the fires in the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has encouraged agriculture in the region, is facing intense international pressure.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/P. Karadjias
Brazil's burning
Four times the number of forest fires have burned so far this year in the Amazon compared to the whole of 2018, Brazil's National Institute for Space Research says. Ranchers and loggers are responsible for setting most of them as part of efforts to clear land for cattle. Environmental groups say land deforestation has increased dramatically since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/D, Sanoaui
Stark satellite view
Satellite images show the true scale of the deforestation over large swathes of difficult-to-reach tropical rainforest. Bolsonaro is facing intense international pressure to tackle the fires. The Brazilian president has blamed indigenous tribes, small-scale farmers and even global NGOs — without evidence. On Friday, he said he was considering deploying the army to help put out the fires.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Planet Labs Inc.
Dry season fans flames
Brazil's dry season is helping the blazes spread more quickly. In the country's Amazonas state, heat from forest fires has been above average every day throughout August. To step up the pressure on Brazil, Norway and Germany have halted donations to Brazil’s Amazon support fund. France has even mooted the idea of blocking an EU trade deal with South American nations.
Image: Reuters/A. Machado
Chemical deforestation
Brazil isn't the only country involved in deforestation. Peru, with the second-largest expanse of Amazonian forest, is also seeing a growing problem. Illegal gold miners have been accused of causing irreversible environmental damage to more than 110 square kilometers (42 square miles) of forest and river basins through the liberal use of fertilizers.
Image: AFP/C. Bouroncle
Other neighbors affected
Brazil's other neighbors Bolivia and Paraguay have also struggled to contain forest fires. About 7,500 square kilometers (2,900 square miles) of land has been affected in Bolivia. The country has even deployed a Boeing 747-400 SuperTanker carrying 76,000 liters (20,000 gallons) of retardant, a substance used to stop fires.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. de Souza
Lungs are burning
As well as political pressure, the sheer scale of the wildfires has sparked public protests against Brazilian interests around the world, including the country's embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus. The Amazon is billed as the "the lungs of the planet," as the rainforest produces about a fifth of the total oxgyen needed for life on earth.
