President and ministers meet over the weekend to discuss Codigo Florestal

After meeting three times during the week with the minister of Environment, Izabella Teixeira, president Dilma Rousseff had another meeting on Saturday to discuss the Land Use Law (“Codigo Florestal”) that was approved by the Chamber of Deputies at the end of April. The latest meeting was attended by the presidential Chief of Staff (“ministra chefe da Casa Civil”), Gleisi Hoffman, the head of media relations (“ministra da Comunicação Social”), Helena Chagas, the ministers of Agrarian Development, Pepe Vargas, and Agriculture, Mendes Ribeiro, and the head of the government attorney office (“Adovacia-Geral da União”), Luis Inacio Adams.

The text of the bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies has been the objective of severe criticism by environmentalists. It was also quite different from what the executive branch wanted. At the end of last year, a Codigo Florestal was passed in the Senate with the blessing of the administration. However, the text of that bill was significantly changed by the farm lobby (“bancada ruralista”) in the Chamber of Deputies. It creates the possibility of a broad amnesty for illegal deforestation and reduces the size of protected areas (for example, along riverbanks).

President Dilma Rousseff is under pressure to veto parts or all of the Chamber of Deputies’ bill. The executive branch has insisted that it will not accept an amnesty for illegal deforestation and demands that disturbed ground, especially along riverbanks, be restored to its original state.

A presidential veto can be overturned in Congress by a simple majority.