The undersigned civil society organizations of the State of Acre hereby express their strong opposition to the appointment of lawyer Helen de Freitas Cavalcante to the superintendency of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) in Acre.
It is no surprise that over the past two years, the agencies responsible for regulating and implementing environmental policies in Brazil have suffered unprecedented attacks—marked primarily by the dismantling of these agencies’ operational capacity and even reprisals against their public servants. The discontinuation of environmental policies—built through significant technical and political investment and essential to all human societies and the maintenance of ecosystems such as forests, mangroves, and marine reserves—is a concrete outcome of the current Minister of the Environment’s promise to “let the herd through” during the worst health crisis the country has ever faced.
The appointment of individuals to key positions who consistently act against the mission of environmental, Indigenous, and human rights protection agencies has normalized the violation of the Federal Constitution and caused a weakening in the enforcement of environmental laws. The latest example of this is the appointment of the new IBAMA superintendent in Acre.
On Wednesday, March 3rd, the Diário Oficial da União (Brazil’s Federal Gazette) published the appointment of environmental lawyer Helen de Freitas Cavalcante to the position of IBAMA superintendent in Acre. For years, Cavalcante has defended environmental offenders who are the subjects of fines and enforcement actions by IBAMA and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). On her social media accounts, she shares videos claiming that IBAMA inspectors tend to act abusively on rural properties—where they work only to issue fines and embargo areas. She also provides guidance on how to hire an environmental lawyer to overturn such penalties.
We believe that the appointment of this lawyer to such a strategic position—essential for ensuring the proper functioning of IBAMA in Acre, whose mandate is to protect the environment against illegal acts that directly contribute to deforestation in the Amazon in general and in Acre in particular—is a move that directly conflicts with the interests of IBAMA. This is because the lawyer offers legal defense services to help individuals accused of environmental infractions avoid or undermine the fines imposed by the very institution she now heads. Therefore, we publicly declare that this appointment places Acre under serious threat, and if this decision is upheld, the damage to efforts aimed at combating environmental crimes in our state will be immeasurable and could become yet another preventable tragedy.
Signed by:
Associação Sociocultural Yawanawa – ASCY
Associação do Movimento dos Agentes Agroflorestais Indígenas do Acre – AMAAIAC
Centro de Defesa dos Direitos Humanos e Educação Popular – CEDHEP
Centro de Trabalhadores da Amazônia – CTA
Comissão Pró Índio do Acre – CPI-Acre
Comitê Chico Mendes
Frente Ampla Democrática Socioambiental – FADS
Memorial Chico Mendes
Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas
Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens – MAB
MulherAções
Núcleo de Estudos Afro-brasileiros e indígenas da Universidade Federal do
Acre – Neabi-Ufac
Rede Acreana de Mulheres e Homens
Rede Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico – GTA
SOS Amazônia
WWF – Brazil
It is no surprise that over the past two years, the agencies responsible for regulating and implementing environmental policies in Brazil have suffered unprecedented attacks—marked primarily by the dismantling of these agencies’ operational capacity and even reprisals against their public servants. The discontinuation of environmental policies—built through significant technical and political investment and essential to all human societies and the maintenance of ecosystems such as forests, mangroves, and marine reserves—is a concrete outcome of the current Minister of the Environment’s promise to “let the herd through” during the worst health crisis the country has ever faced.
The appointment of individuals to key positions who consistently act against the mission of environmental, Indigenous, and human rights protection agencies has normalized the violation of the Federal Constitution and caused a weakening in the enforcement of environmental laws. The latest example of this is the appointment of the new IBAMA superintendent in Acre.
On Wednesday, March 3rd, the Diário Oficial da União (Brazil’s Federal Gazette) published the appointment of environmental lawyer Helen de Freitas Cavalcante to the position of IBAMA superintendent in Acre. For years, Cavalcante has defended environmental offenders who are the subjects of fines and enforcement actions by IBAMA and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). On her social media accounts, she shares videos claiming that IBAMA inspectors tend to act abusively on rural properties—where they work only to issue fines and embargo areas. She also provides guidance on how to hire an environmental lawyer to overturn such penalties.
We believe that the appointment of this lawyer to such a strategic position—essential for ensuring the proper functioning of IBAMA in Acre, whose mandate is to protect the environment against illegal acts that directly contribute to deforestation in the Amazon in general and in Acre in particular—is a move that directly conflicts with the interests of IBAMA. This is because the lawyer offers legal defense services to help individuals accused of environmental infractions avoid or undermine the fines imposed by the very institution she now heads. Therefore, we publicly declare that this appointment places Acre under serious threat, and if this decision is upheld, the damage to efforts aimed at combating environmental crimes in our state will be immeasurable and could become yet another preventable tragedy.
Signed by:
Associação Sociocultural Yawanawa – ASCY
Associação do Movimento dos Agentes Agroflorestais Indígenas do Acre – AMAAIAC
Centro de Defesa dos Direitos Humanos e Educação Popular – CEDHEP
Centro de Trabalhadores da Amazônia – CTA
Comissão Pró Índio do Acre – CPI-Acre
Comitê Chico Mendes
Frente Ampla Democrática Socioambiental – FADS
Memorial Chico Mendes
Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas
Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens – MAB
MulherAções
Núcleo de Estudos Afro-brasileiros e indígenas da Universidade Federal do
Acre – Neabi-Ufac
Rede Acreana de Mulheres e Homens
Rede Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico – GTA
SOS Amazônia
WWF – Brazil