Codigo Florestal approved in Chamber of Deputies is criticized by senators

The text of the Land Use Law (“Codigo Florestal”) approved by the Chamber of Deputies last week made some 20 changes in the bill approved by the Senate at the end of last year. Senator Luiz Henrique (PMDB-SC), who was responsible for the final wording of the Senate version, was not happy with the changes. He complained that the Senate bill had been amply debated by members of the farm lobby in the Chamber of Deputies, environmental activists, environment experts and representatives of the executive branch.

According to Luiz Henrique, the Chamber of Deputies went back on its word. He emphasized that the text  he wrote did not contain a single comma that was not approved by the farm lobby in the lower house (“Frente Parlamentar de Agricultura da Câmara”) during negotiations in the Senate.

Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE) said he was astonished by what happened. He said the Chamber of Deputies “mutilated” the bill approved by the Senate.

Senator Pedro Simon (PMDB-RS) said he doubted that president Dilma Rousseff would sanction the bill approved in the lower house. “She will take a position in favor of Brazil, not the Chamber of Deputies, keeping in mind that Brazil will be hosting the United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Deveopment in June,” declared the senator.