Lula: ‘There are many suspicions that the fires were started deliberately’ – Latin America

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said there were “strong indications” of criminal acts in the forest fires that are destroying the world’s green lung, the Amazon. “There are many suspicions that the fires are criminal (‘criminosos’),” Lula said during an emergency meeting with the Speaker of the House, Arthur Lira, the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, and the Federal Supreme Court, Luís Roberto Barroso.


Lula also hinted at a possible political motivation in the increase in fires in Brazil. “It is important not to forget that a very important person in the September call in São Paulo (the demonstration called by former president Bolsonaro, on September 7) used the phrase ‘let’s set fire to Brazil’ or ‘Brazil will catch fire,'” he said, adding that “the drought is the worst in recent times, the heat is the worst in recent times and it is present throughout the world… but something smacks of opportunism on the part of certain sectors that are trying to create confusion in this country,” he concluded.