Brazilian Congress deals critical blow to environmental agencies, Lula administration
Fox News
Brazil's Congress has stripped key powers away from two new federal agencies in a significant blow to socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's agenda.
Objecting to what he called "constraints on agribusiness that could harm exports," Senator Carlos Viana said during the voting session on Thursday that "The main points (of the caucus) have been addressed."
The changes prevent the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, led by Sonia Guajajara, from legalizing the boundaries of any new Indigenous territories and keep the Ministry of Environment, run by Marina Silva, from managing a national property registry that's a key tool for monitoring illegal deforestation. These and other authorities will be transferred to other federal government branches.