Head of Brazil's environmental protection agency resigns

JANUARY 7, 2019 / 9:35 AM / UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

Brad Brooks
3 MIN READ

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The head of Brazil’s environmental protection agency Ibama resigned on Monday after far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, in his latest attack on the agency, criticized the amount of money it spends to rent vehicles.

An Ibama spokeswoman said Suely Araujo, who had led the agency since 2016, resigned after Bolsonaro suggested on Twitter there were irregularities in the agency’s budget, which included 28.7 million reais ($7.73 million) for rental vehicles of pick-up trucks used to patrol rough terrains.

The Environment Ministry, which oversees Ibama, said in an emailed statement that it had been planning to replace Araujo and that a new head of Ibama would be named within days.

Bolsonaro, who has strong backing from the country’s powerful agriculture sector, has routinely attacked Ibama, which is tasked with policing the Amazon rainforest to stop deforestation, often caused by loggers, ranchers and farms, along with illegal mining.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-ibama/head-of-brazils-environmental-protection-agency-resigns-idUSKCN1P11J1?rpc=401&