Brazil to send military to fight Amazon deforestation, fires

Brazil intends to activate the military to fight Amazon deforestation and fires, the country's vice president said on Wednesday, as part of wider plans to protect the world's largest rainforest where destruction surged last year.

Vice President Hamilton Mourão said the country would invoke the same measure that permitted the military to fight forest fires last year, a so-called Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO) decree that must be signed off on by President Jair Bolsonaro. Amazon deforestation surged to an 11-year high last year, when fires tore through the rainforest, provoking international outcry that Brazil was not doing enough to protect the biome.

Mourão said the country would establish permanent bases in the Amazon throughout the year that would, in addition to the military, involve federal and state police, environmental agencies and the national security force. "We already have a plan practically finished for an initiative against deforestation and to prevent fires that start in July and August," Mourão said.

Mourão did not give details on when the decree would be issued. The government has identified seven regions as priorities for fighting Amazon destruction, he said.