When the lights go out, Agro maneuvers the last herd of the Bolsonaro government

This Monday afternoon (19) the Brazilian Senate Agrarian Reform and Agriculture Commission approved a favorable opinion on the Poison Package (PL1459/2022).

The Poison Package is a compilation of legislative projects that aims to replace the current Pesticides Law (Law 7.802/1989) with a new text, even eliminating the word “agrotoxic” [as it is commonly known in Brazil], and replacing it with a milder term: pesticide. The text makes the release and use of pesticides more flexible in the country, in addition to leading Anvisa and Ibama to a secondary role in the registration, inspection and analysis of substances. At the end of the meeting, Congress also approved an urgent request for the consideration of the bill in the plenary of the House.

On the same date, Greenpeace Brasil filed an appeal with the Court of Justice of Rondônia in response to the lawsuit filed by Senator Acir Gurgacz (PDT – RO) for his position against the approval of the “Poison Package”. More than 300 health and environment organizations, government agencies – such as Ibama, the National Cancer Institute (INCA), the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), Fiocruz and Anvisa – and even the United Nations have already protested against this measure.

On Tuesday night (20), the Senate approved in plenary the Law Project of Self-Control, a bill that will allow the agricultural industries to supervise their food production themselves. These activities are currently carried out exclusively by inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture. “Outsourced inspection”, which removes part of the role of federal agricultural inspectors, subordinated to the Ministry of Agriculture, has been contested by the Union of Federal Agricultural Inspectors (Anffa Sindical). The Project has already passed through the Chamber of Deputies and is now going for presidential sanction.