The Economist – Mexico City
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, promulgated a bill that softens the standards of concession of environmental licenses for projectsbut he vetoed 63 of his provisions, the Executive Secretary of the Presidency reported Friday.
The original proposal, supported by the powerful agro -industrial community of Brazil, was harshly criticized by environmental groupswhich had begun to call it “Devastation Law.”
Lula’s vetoes were intended to preserve the integrity of the licensing process, guarantee the legal certainty of the projects, protect the rights of indigenous communities and quilombolas and expedite proceduressaid Miriam Belchior.
Belchior also announced that the Government would send a new bill to Congress by virtue of a constitutional urgency procedure in order to fill what “lagoons” left by vetoes and avoid legal insecurity.
