Bolsonaro proposes Amazon mining over fertilizer shortages

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday proposed lifting a ban on mining in indigenous territories in the Amazon to offset potential fertilizer shortages due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The far-right leader said that mineral extraction in indigenous territories -- something vehemently opposed by those local communities and environmentalists -- was necessary to avoid dependence on imported products.

“With the Russia/Ukraine war we now face the risk of a lack of potassium or that its price rises,” Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter.

Potassium is a crucial ingredient in many fertilizers.

Agriculture giant Brazil imports more than 80 per cent of the fertilizers it uses, and when it comes to those containing potassium, that figure rises to 96 per cent, according to the agriculture ministry. Close to 20 per cent of the fertilizers it imports come from Russia.

“Our food security and agribusiness require Executive and Legislative measures so that we don’t depend externally on something we have in abundance,” said Bolsonaro.

He also cited a bill first proposed in 2020 that would allow for the extraction of minerals in indigenous territories in the Amazon, something that is currently banned by law.

“When this bill is approved, that would solve the problem.”