After spending the entire day analyzing the scenario of the fires in the country, alongside aides and specialists, this Monday (16), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decided to invite the heads of the other branches of government to an emergency meeting on the subject. The information was provided by the Minister of the Presidency’s Social Communication Secretariat (Secom), Paulo Pimenta. 
“[A reunião é] so that they can have a dialogue, based on this diagnosis, this information [sobre as queimadas]and can think together about sharing responsibilities, as there are actions that go beyond the responsibility of the federal government. The idea is to treat this issue not as a government issue, but as an issue for the Brazilian State, with the participation of all branches of government,” the minister told journalists at the Planalto Palace.
The meeting with the heads of government is scheduled for this Tuesday (17), at 4:30 pm, at the Planalto Palace. Lula invited the presidents of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The presidents of the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) and the head of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) are also being invited. In addition to this meeting, the government, through the Civil House, is studying an agenda for President Lula with the governors in the coming days.
Pimenta explained that the government is preparing a series of measures, which will only be announced and detailed on Tuesday. Without giving any details, he said that the initiatives include, for example, some provisional measures.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, gives an interview to the program Bom Dia, Ministro, this Tuesday, starting at 8 am, broadcast on Brazilian Communications Company (EBC).
Brazil is facing a serious scenario of forest fires and burnings this year. From January to August 2024, fires in the country have already reached 11.39 million hectares of the country’s territory, according to data from the Mapbiomas Fire Monitor, released last week. Of this total, 5.65 million hectares were consumed by fire in August alone, which is equivalent to 49% of the total for this year.
Yesterday (15), Minister Flávio Dino, of the Federal Supreme Court, authorized the federal government to issue extraordinary credits beyond the fiscal limits for combating fires. The minister has also already determined measures to combat fires in the Amazon and Pantanal, such as the emergency hiring of firefighters and an increase in the number of National Force personnel.
Earlier this Monday, the president of the STF and the National Council of Justice (CNJ), Luís Roberto Barroso, demanded seriousness from the Judiciary in the fight against criminal fires in the country.
A wave of fires has hit the country’s capital in recent days. Around 3,000 hectares of the Brasília National Park, a conservation unit of native Cerrado and abundant in water sources, managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), have already been consumed by fire. President Lula himself flew over the region last Sunday, when smoke began to cover the sky of Brasília.
The city woke up this Monday covered in soot and smoke in the air, which led to the cancellation of classes. The increased health risks are also a experts’ concern. About a week ago, the fire had already reached a large part of the Brasília National Forest, which is another important conservation unit in the federal capital.
