The Bolsonaro government’s mineral policy for the Legal Amazon: A balance based on active mining processes

Abstract

Jair Bolsonaro’s lack of commitment to the ‘environmental agenda’ and to the traditional peoples of the Amazon can be evidenced even before his inauguration. This work has as general objective to present and debate the mineral policies implemented during the Jair Bolsonaro government (2019-2022) for the Legal Amazon, focusing on the progress of the activity towards its ‘specially protected territories.’ In addition, as specific objectives, issues related to the (socio)environmental impacts of the mining activity, its main actors and the substances that arouse interest will be raised. During the government, which in the words of Wanderley et al. (2020) can be classified as ‘marginal liberal neo-extractivist,’ deforestation has increased to levels not seen since 2008. Mining is partly to blame in this scenario. According to Real-time Deforestation Detection system (DETER) alert data, mining deforestation reached a historic record in the Legal Amazon, destroying 125 km² of forest. As a result, we had a 42% increase in deforestation, from the year before Bolsonaro took office, 2018 to 2021. To achieve the suggested objectives, the operationalization of the work used the base made available by the National Mining Agency (ANM), the System of Geographic Information on Mining (SIGMINE). The data thus obtained were systematized in tables, graphs and maps, relating the available variables and looking for the occurrence of spatial and temporal patterns, as well as ruptures. The analysis will be supported by the bibliographic review and complemented by the documentary survey and news from the printed media by digital means. Thus, the preliminary results point to the presence of 51,350 active mining processes in the Legal Amazon, 11,551 of which were filed during the current government. These more than 11 thousand processes are distributed among 6,550 applications and 4,011 authorization titles. Furthermore, involved in 38% of active mining processes, gold emerges as the main required substance.

Keywords: Amazon; Neoexcrativism; Mining Process.