Judge blocks law aimed at protecting the Amazon in controversial move: 'We can't accept ... demands'
A Brazilian judge suspended a key tax law that was protecting the Amazon rainforest's deforested areas from soy extraction. According to reports by Reuters, Judge Flavio Dino blocked the law from the western state of Mato Grosso, the nation's top soy-producing state.
Soy is a major part of the Brazilian economy, as the country is the world's largest producer and exporter of soy.
To minimize the environmental impact of soy production, soy companies around the world voluntarily signed the "Amazon soy moratorium." Under this agreement, firms pledged to stop purchasing soy from farms that were located in deforested areas of Brazil's Amazon rainforest after 2008.
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However, recently Judge Dino suspended the law from going into effect in the state of Mato Grosso. Per reports by Reuters, Judge Dino claimed the agreement "seems to violate the principle of free enterprise" and uses "tax rules as a punitive instrument."
The growth of soy plantations is the second-largest cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, the Stockholm Environment Institute reports. Deforestation not only threatens the region's biodiversity but also exacerbates the overheating of the planet.
While some experts argue the soy moratorium is still not enough to protect the region from deforestation, it helped hold soy companies somewhat accountable. The suspended law provides a financial incentive for companies to extract soy from land that has not been deforested. Without it, companies aren't incentivized to choose the environment over profits.
Governor of Mato Grosso Mauro Mendes spoke out against the move, stating further action will be taken. He also said the state will appeal the decision.
"We can't accept that companies, national or foreign ones, come to Brazil and make demands that are not in the Brazilian law," he said in a video posted on social media, per Reuters.
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