The Liberal Group started yesterday on September 5th the initiative 'Proposals for the Amazon', interviewing the candidate for the presidency of the Republic Luiz Felipe D'Avila (Partido Novo). Felipe D'Ávila is 58 years old, is a political scientist, writer and founder of the Center for Public Leadership (CLP). The leader of the party's bench in the Chamber, deputy Thiago Mitraud, is on the plate as vice.

Click here to read the full transcription of the interview

Asked about how to preserve and produce in the Amazon region, Felipe said that one of his main proposals is to promote a green economy in Brazil, uniting environmental preservation, reforestation and sustainable agriculture as drivers of the resumption of economic growth in Brazil, starting with the Amazon. 

“We need to focus on a state plan to make Brazil the first big Zero Carbon economy. For that, we need to plant trees on degraded land. We have more than five million hectares of degraded land and this planting will generate employment and income for the poorest. The idea is to take small properties and finance planting in these regions, generating revenue of BRL 500 per hectare. Second, we need more State presence to fight deforestation. Finally, focus on the local economic vocation, which I call the ‘Green Economy’. It makes no sense to have a Manaus Free Trade Zone producing refrigerators, motorcycles, when that money should be going to the Green Economy. If we have a program like ours, fighting deforestation, planting trees and stimulating this economy, exporting sustainable products, we will make the Amazon the flagship of economic recovery”, he replied.

In response to reporter Dante Graça, from the newspaper A Crítica, from Amazonas, who asked about how the candidate intends to fight illegal mining in the region, Felipe said that it is necessary to increase the presence and strength of the State in conflict areas. “Illegal mining is the result of the absence of a State. Today we already have satellite images that enable active surveillance, preventing the activity of these criminals that destroy our wealth and impoverish our local population. But in addition to combat, we also need to understand the chain of this crime. So we need to fight in the financial system, in our borders, in the intermediaries, all this is part of the chain and we need to break these links. It is possible to do this with intelligence and political will and, of course, against the interests of politicians in the region who are involved in these crimes. Therefore, we need more State, fighting illegal mining with all our strength”, stressed the candidate.

DEMARCATION - Reporter Natália Figueiredo, from the Diário da Amazônia, from Rondônia, questioned whether Felipe plans any government action to give dignity to indigenous people and quilombolas, guaranteeing the right to land and a good life. The candidate said that his plan is to focus on demarcating lands for indigenous peoples and giving communities more autonomy. “First, it is necessary to finish the demarcation of indigenous lands. Second, they have to decide their future. We have a habit of letting entities and NGOs speak for them. But indigenous people are responsible people who understand better than anyone what is best for them. So, the exploration of sustainable activity is something fundamental for them to decide, not for us. After they decide if they even want legal mining, then the state comes in with the regulation,” he said. D’Avila believes that the Federal Government needs to move forward in this process with the support of the States. “We need to continue the demarcation, including setting goals for the state governments, because in addition to demarcating, we also need to title land and for that, we need legal instruments, to prevent these lands from becoming no man's land. So, securitization is fundamental and the federal government has to determine the goals for each state. If we know who is responsible for the land, we can punish illegal activities, whether on indigenous lands or not,” he said.

“FERROGRÃO” - In the interview, the candidate criticized the environmental impasses for the construction of Ferrogrão, a railroad that will link the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, facilitating the outflow of agribusiness. “This political exploitation of keeping the region underdeveloped by what I call cheap environmentalism, a left-wing environmentalism, which thinks that anything you do means to devastate the environment is absurd. We need to reconcile sustainability and preservation with the market, after all, it is the market that will resolve the issue of the environment in Brazil. We cannot fail to generate wealth for a region for ideological political reasons completely outdated”, criticized the candidate.

Last year, the construction of the 933-kilometer stretch of Ferrogrão was suspended by the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The project is still undergoing feasibility studies and the draft notice and contract are being evaluated by the Federal Audit Court (TCU). In the decision, Minister Alexandre de Moraes suspended Law 13,452/2017, which changed the limits of about 862 hectares of the Jamanxim National Park, in Pará, for the construction of the railway. As a result, the work came to a halt. The park in question is located in the municipalities of Itaituba and Trairão, both in Pará. Alexandre considered that it is an intangible cultural heritage and the alteration of its limits for the passage of the railroad could not have been done by Provisional Measure. The lawsuit was filed by the PSOL alleging that in order to change or suppress an area of ​​conservation units, it is necessary to enact a law in a formal sense and that, therefore, the MP would violate the constitution and affect the indigenous people of the region, against the rule of article 231.

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What is the "Proposals for the Amazon" project? 

The round of interviews with candidates for the Presidency of the Republic", led by the Liberal Group in partnership with eight vehicles, one from each state of the Legal Amazon, aims to guide themes related to the region in the presidential race, such as the environment, economy, health, education, telecommunications, infrastructure, etc. All interviews start at 12:30, at Brasília Time Zone (UTC/GMT -3 hours). It lasts one hour, and is shown live on oliberal.com, Rádio Liberal FM and social networks. Learn more about this initiative here.

Check the agenda of upcoming interviews:

September 6th: Ciro Gomes (PDT)  
September 8th: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)  
September 9th: Soraya Thronicke (Union)  
September 12th: Jair Bolsonaro (PL)  
September 13th: Pablo Marçal (Pros)

September 14th: Simone Tebet (MDB)

Find out which vehicles participate in the "Proposals for the Amazon"  
 

Imirante (MA);  
The Criticism (AM);  
Diário da Amazônia (RO);  
Gazeta do Cerrado (TO);  
Digital Gazette (MT);  
Roraima in Time (RR);  
Gazeta do Acre (AC);  
Diary of Amapá (AP).