Change of location
That shindig with Jair Bolsonaro at the Museum of Natural History? It’s off.
Plans to honor Brazil’s far-right president with a black-tie gala at the American Museum of Natural History have been scrapped after a public outcry that saw New York’s mayor brand Jair Bolsonaro “a very dangerous human being”.
Bill de Blasio was among those to speak out after plans for the 14 May event emerged last week, claiming Bolsonaro’s “overt racism and homophobia” and his hostility to the environment mean it would be wrong for such a museum to host him.
Museum staff and scientists in both the United States and Brazil also blasted the decision to pay tribute to a rightwing populist who critics fear is leading the South American country into a new era of Amazon destruction with profound implications for Brazil’s indigenous people and the battle against climate change.
That in particular seems like a deal-breaker. Which team should the AMNH be on: team don’t destroy the Amazon rain forest, or team do destroy the Amazon rain forest? The Natural History part would seem to answer that question in a case where team-choosing is an issue.
With mutual respect for the work & goals of our individual organizations, we jointly agreed that the Museum is not the optimal location for the Brazilian-Am. Chamber of Commerce gala dinner. This traditional event will go forward at another location on the original date & time.
— American Museum of Natural History (@AMNH) April 15, 2019
Move it to a Trump-owned building. Perfect fit.
The Guardian helpfully links to its own January 2 article on Bolsonaro’s swift moves against the Amazon rain forest:
Hours after taking office, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched an assault on environmental and Amazon protections with an executive order transferring the regulation and creation of new indigenous reserves to the agriculture ministry – which is controlled by the powerful agribusiness lobby.
Previously, demarcation of indigenous reserves was controlled by the indigenous agency Funai, which has been moved from the justice ministry to a new ministry of women, family and human rights controlled by an evangelical pastor.
Not a guy the AMNH should be celebrating.
Having an environmental agency under Ag? Must have been taking a page from the US book. Forestry here has long been under Ag, which is why forests have tended to be treated as commodities to be harvested by private interests rather than national treasures to be safeguarded.