Published 12:48 IST, August 20th 2020
Brazil's Vice President invites Leonardo DiCaprio for eight-hour hike in the Amazon
Brazil’s VP Hamilton Mourao challenged Leonardo DiCaprio to an eight-hour hike in the Amazon in a bid to show him that the rainforest is not actually burning.
Brazil’s Vice President Hamilton Mourao reportedly challenged Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio to an eight-hour hike in the Amazon in a bid to show him that the rainforest is not actually burning. Days after DiCaprio shared an Instagram video of the world’s biggest rainforest in flames, Mourao, who heads the task force on fighting deforestation, invited the Hollywood star to walk through the jungle and understand how things work in the ‘immense region’.
Mourao, at an event on sustainable development in the Amazon organised by the National Industrial Confederation (CNI), reportedly said that he would like to invite the ‘most recent critic’, DiCaprio, to come with him to Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira (in northern Brazil) and walk eight hours through the jungle. The Vice President further added that the Hollywood actor will get a better understanding of how things work.
DiCaprio, who is also an outspoken environmentalist, has been spotted his opinions on issues that needed to be raised. Last week, while taking to Instagram, DiCaprio shared a post with a caption that cited satellite data from Brazil’s space agency, INPE, showing the number of fires in the Brazilian Amazon in July increased 28 per cent year-on-year, with early numbers for August also showing an increase. In the post. DiCaprio also wrote that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is under pressure internationally to curb fires, but he has publicly doubted the severity of them in the past claiming opponents and indigenous communities were responsible.
Bolsonaro calls Amazon fires a ‘lie’
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro has been facing international condemnation for presiding over rising deforestation and huge fires in Amazon last year. Recently, he also denied the existence of fires in the Amazon rainforest and called it a "lie”. Bolsonaro’s comments came after a data was released by his own government that showed that the area has been deeply affected by fire. Reports suggest that last year as well, Bolsonaro denied a surge in fires that resulted in a global outcry.
According to reports, last year Bolsonaro also interfered in data released by Inpe on Amazon deforestation as it was going against his statement. He even fired the agency’s head Ricardo Galvao after he defended his agency’s numbers that showed rising destruction. In a speech made by Bolsonaro, he reportedly said that Brazil can protect the Amazon alone as the majority of the forest is still standing. He added that Amazon is a wet forest and does not catch fire as he continued to blame the media and foreign governments for spreading a false narrative.
Updated 12:48 IST, August 20th 2020