BRAZIL. 2019. Edmar, a worker on a small farm in the Victoria settlement, clears away brush in an effort to contain fires.
According to the government, 2019 was a normal year in terms of wildfires in the state of Mato Grosso, despite the 85% increase confirmed by the Brazilian National Space Research Institute. The numbers and versions vary but what is confirmed is an increase by 500% of deforestation in areas of intense agro-business, such as Sorriso and Sinop. In the town of Claudia - situated within the legal border of Amazonia, where the jungle is supposed to be protected from the agro-business - fires have burned constantly since the beginning of the dry season.
Fires can come from land owners clearing land or reactivating the soil after harvest, thunderstorms, and even traditional hunting from the indigenous people in the area, but deforestation is a criminal act that is difficult to track and prosecute. The budget for protecting forests has been reduced significantly during President Bolsonaro´s administration.