In a speech at the second plenary of the Summit of the Americas, this Friday (10), President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) sought to respond to criticism that the government has been suffering for its efforts to find British journalist Dom Philips, 57, and the indigenist Bruno Pereira, 41, disappeared in the Amazon since Sunday (5).
“Since last Sunday, when we had information that two citizens, a British citizen, Dom Phillips, and a Brazilian Bruno Araújo [Pereira], disappeared in the Vale do Javari region, our Armed Forces and the Federal Police have been outstanding in the tireless search to reach these people. We pray to God that they are found alive,” he said in a speech in Los Angeles.
The president spoke during the second plenary session of the heads of state at the summit, where there is space for each of them to freely address the topics they want to highlight. The event brings together more than 30 delegations representing the countries of the continent.
The indigenist and the English journalist disappeared last Sunday (5), while traveling through Vale do Javari towards the city of Atalaia do Norte (AM). Bolsonaro had already minimized the episode and classified their trip to the west of the state of Amazonas as an “unrecommended adventure”. Phillips was covering journalistic coverage and had Pereira’s support.
During the week, the government was criticized for the lack of a task force dedicated to the search operation. The Vale do Javari Indigenous Land is frequently the target of invasions by illegal miners.
On Thursday, Justice Minister Anderson Torres discussed the disappearance of Philips and Pereira with representatives from the United Kingdom and the United States. Also in Los Angeles, Torres had a meeting on the issue with Vick Ford, undersecretary for Latin America at the British Foreign Office. She asked the Brazilian government to do everything to try to find the missing. The minister said he was committed to this, and that at least R$500,000 had already been spent on the investigation and searches.
“I explained to her the difficulties of the region, such as the great distances and the difficulties of access to the place, which are not always known to people outside the region”, said the Minister of Justice.
The topic was also discussed at a meeting with John Kerry, the US special adviser on climate change. Kerry also heard about the difficulties of the search process and Brazilian efforts.
This Friday, Bolsonaro spoke in plenary for about ten minutes. Environmental themes dominated much of the speech: he sought to highlight Brazil as a country that preserves forests, is ready to invest in clean energy and, at the same time, is capable of producing large amounts of food.
“Brazil feeds 1 billion people. We guarantee food security for one sixth of the world’s population. Without our agribusiness, part of the world would go hungry,” he said. Despite this, hunger in Brazil itself has grown. A study by Ipea, a federal government agency, pointed out that at least 33 million Brazilians currently suffer from a lack of food.
In plenary, he again praised the bilateral meeting he had with President Joe Biden. “We sat for 30 minutes, less than one meter apart and without a mask. I felt in Biden sincerity and willingness to solve problems that are beyond the responsibility of each of us. The experience was fantastic. I am amazed and believing in his words and what that was treated”, he said, repeating expressions he has used several times since yesterday, in statements to the press.
Bolsonaro also said that Brazil had engaged in negotiations on the summit’s themes and advocated more regional integration. “Let’s work together so that these proposals drive the new cooperation agenda for economic growth in the Americas.
In his speech, he mentioned advances in regional partnerships, such as a fish farming project in the Itaipu lake, with Paraguay, and gas exploration in the Vaca Muerta region of Argentina. The Brazilian also cited the advance of oil exploration discovered in Guyana and Suriname as “something fantastic” and capable of, with the help of well-chosen partners, making these two countries stand out on the international scene.
The speech also had messages aimed at the conservative public. Bolsonaro said that freedom is a value more important than life and that his government “believes in God and respects his military and is pro-life since its conception”.
Also this Friday, the Brazilian leader has scheduled meetings with presidents Iván Duque, of Colombia, and Guillermo Lasso, of Ecuador. In the early afternoon, a photo will be taken with all the heads of state at the meeting. Also this Friday, he leaves for Orlando, where he will inaugurate a vice consulate and meet supporters on Saturday.
On this last day of the Summit of the Americas, a declaration on immigration, proposed by the US, will be signed, with measures to try to contain the flow of Latin American citizens who try to enter the US illegally.
