The Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government allowed Souza Cruz, a cigarette manufacturer, to access the genetic heritage of at least five species of microorganisms in a border area, considered essential for national security. The material is intended for the tobacco fermentation process.
In 2019, two years before allowing this search for fungi and other microorganisms, part of them from Brazilian biodiversity, the government regularized access to genetic heritage made by Souza Cruz and considered irregular, in disagreement with the legislation in force until then.
A term of commitment suspended any administrative sanctions and demands for fines.
The company and the two ministries involved —GSI (Institutional Security Office) of the Presidency and MMA (Ministry of the Environment)— hide information about the type of genetic material that has been accessed; what surveys are conducted; and what they are intended for.
The allegation for this decision is of commercial and industrial secrecy.
“The company had not received any fines or any other penalties, so it did not have a direct benefit related to its pardon as a result of signing [do termo de compromisso]”, said Souza Cruz, in a note.
“The benefits arising from the term are provided for by law and are not subject to negotiation.” All the company’s activities comply with the law in full and promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, he said.
“The term of commitment is provided for in the law known as the new legal framework for biodiversity, which established a deadline for regularization. There are terms for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agribusiness, chemical companies and many others.”
Souza Cruz changed its name to BAT Brasil. With a share capital of R$ 1.63 billion, it is one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the country. The parent company is BAT, a multinational based in London.
The permission for the exploitation of genetic material related to the tobacco fermentation process contradicts a legal offensive by the AGU (Advocacia-Geral da União) against Souza Cruz and Philip Morris Brasil, holders of 90% of the national market for the manufacture and sale of cigarettes. , according to AGU.
In May 2019, already in the first year of the Bolsonaro government, AGU filed a public civil action in the Federal Court in Rio Grande do Sul against the companies, asking that the Union be reimbursed due to SUS spending on smokers.
The headquarters in England and the United States are also defendants in the action.
The direct costs in the health system are R$ 50.2 billion per year; per day, 443 Brazilians die as a result of smoking; and smokers are at risk of developing more than 50 diseases, according to information taken into account by the AGU.
Less than two months after the action, the MMA decided to regularize any violations by Souza Cruz in terms of access to genetic heritage, based on a 2015 law.
A term of commitment, obtained by the leafwas signed between the ministry and Souza Cruz on July 2, 2019, under the management of Ricardo Salles.
The agreement regularized shipping and bioprospecting activities carried out in violation of pre-2015 laws, which include access to genetic heritage made after June 2000.
As a result, the processing of any administrative proceedings and the application of sanctions were suspended. Souza Cruz was responsible for updating “information on products arising from access to genetic heritage or associated traditional knowledge”.
The related authorizations are part of the Sisgen (National System for the Management of Genetic Heritage and Associated Traditional Knowledge), linked to the MMA.
In the term of commitment, Souza Cruz asked for the names of the species indicated in five items of an annex to be hidden, “including those that are not part of Brazilian biodiversity, but that are related to research (tobacco)”.
“Disclosure of this information can result in the exposure of business secrets, allowing competitors to use this data to manufacture products and compete unfairly, causing damage that is difficult to repair”, argued Souza Cruz.
In a statement, the MMA stated that it will be “strict” in punishing companies that do not fully comply with their assumed obligations. “So far, no irregularity has been found on the part of Souza Cruz.”
The term of commitment was signed by Air Force Brigadier Eduardo Camerini, who was the MMA’s Secretary of Biodiversity. He left the ministry in September 2020.
According to the MMA, the deadline for signing terms of commitment was November 6, 2018. Out of 1,600 proposals submitted by companies and research institutions, 115 terms were signed in 2018 and 756 during the Bolsonaro government.
“Souza Cruz’s access register refers to scientific research,” said the MMA. “It is not up to the ministry to intercede for the user.”
In May 2021, the company registered six projects with Sisgen to obtain samples of the genetic heritage of fungi and other microorganisms. The biomes mentioned are Atlantic Forest and Caatinga, and the states are Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, ParaÃba and Pernambuco.
Part of the access to this genetic material passes through areas considered indispensable for national security, which requires an endorsement by the National Defense Council.
General Augusto Heleno, minister of the GSI, is the organ’s executive secretary. It is up to him to allow or not access to genetic heritage in sensitive areas, such as the border region.
It is the same case of prior consents for mining on the border. In this case, the minister has already had to withdraw and cancel authorizations given, after the leaf reveal that the general released gold exploration in a virtually untouched region of the Amazon, the so-called Cabeça do Cachorro, in São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), on the border with Colombia and Venezuela.
In the case of the genetic heritage desired by Souza Cruz, the minister allowed access to “micro-organisms involved in the process of traditional tobacco fermentation”, according to an extract from the prior consent act of September 23, 2021, published in the Official Gazette of the Union. .
The cities mentioned are Marechal Cândido Rondon (PR) and Mercedes (PR), on the border with Paraguay, and Santa Cruz do Sul (RS), where Souza Cruz has a tobacco processing center.
The database of prior consents, maintained by the National Defense Council, does not show any other authorizations of this type to Souza Cruz in the last ten years.
“Souza Cruz’s request was formalized in compliance with the provisions of Law No. 13,123, of 2015, which deals with access and shipment of samples of genetic heritage. The applicant filed the activity before the MMA, the controlling body, through Sisgen”, said the GSI, in a note.
“Because it is an access activity in municipalities located on the border strip, the registration was submitted to the consultation of the National Defense Council, which gave prior consent for the MMA to complete the process.”
The MMA said that it is up to the council to approve access, without there being “any interference” on the part of the ministry.
