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The director of Brazil's National Mining Agency (ANM) has claimed that he will apply a 'regulatory guillotine' to the domestic mining sector. Bolsonaro also promised during his election campaign to open indigenous areas to commercial interests, particularly mining, agriculture and hydroelectric energy. Since obtaining the presidency, he has proposed opening indigenous areas to commercial mining and his deregulation bill is currently stalled in parliament.
Two leading experts on Brazil's isolated and uncontacted indigenous communities spoke against the idea of ANM's director and Bolsonaro's proposal regarding the mining industry. One of the experts claimed that the policy could generate the ethnocide of 114 isolated Brazilian tribes (there are 185 in all of South America). The other expert added that he had never seen Brazil's indigenous tribes in more danger.
The ANM's director's remarks created a fear of deforestation and lower protection for indigenous communities. Deforestation is already surging in the Brazilian Amazon, as Bolsonaro's policies and rhetoric have emboldened illegal loggers and landgrabbers. The President's policies have also devastated the ecosystem.
Apart from claiming that a 'regulatory guillotine' would be applied to the mining sector, ANM has released a document in which they claim that 'Brazil stands out as a country still very much open for exploitation opportunities and waiting for the treasure chest to be opened'.