Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Jair Bolsonaro was elected as President of Brazil on 28 October and will be inaugurated on 1 January 2019. Officials in my Department in Dublin, at the Irish Embassy in Brasília and the Consulate-General in São Paulo followed the election process closely and have continued to monitor political developments since, including proposals the incoming government is considering. It is important to note that the full plan of the new government will not be clear until after President-elect Bolsonaro assumes office on 1 January. The President-elect has stated some final decisions on government policy and the structure of individual ministries, including those to which the Deputy referred, will not be made until he is in office. He has indicated that he longer wishes to merge the agriculture and environment ministries which has reassured many. I am aware of the difficult situation for many environmental and land rights activists in Brazil and throughout Latin America and my Department continues to monitor the issue closely. I wholeheartedly condemn any act of violence or intimidation against peaceful activists or civil society actors. I call on all relevant stakeholders to respect these groups’ rights to engage in a free and open civil society space, which is essential in a functioning democracy. Officials at the Irish Embassy in Brasília and the Consulate-General in São Paulo and in our offices in Dublin engage regularly with civil society groups and human rights defenders present on the ground in Brazil, including environmental and land rights groups.

Ireland will continue to monitor developments closely, as well as continuing to engage with EU and local partners and raising these issues at EU and UN level, as appropriate. However, I do not think there is anything to be gained for Ireland by slagging someone off before he even takes office. He was democratically elected. Of course, if decisions are taken in Brazil with which we have a fundamental difficulty, I will not be shy in being vocal about them, but he is not even President yet.

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