According to senator Zequinha Marinho (Podemos-PA), actions such as that of Carrefour and Danone, which criticized Brazilian products, must be reprimanded locally
The vice-president of the (Agricultural Parliamentary Front), senator (Podemos-PA), told the Poder360 that the sector has already hired an office in Brussels (Belgium) to process statements it considers defamatory.
The decision comes in the wake of a controversy in the sector with the supermarket chain, of French origin. The group announced that it would stop purchasing meat from , which includes Brazil. He argued that the products did not meet his quality standard.
In response, Brazilian meatpackers, such as and , announced to the chain in Brazil. In a considered “unsatisfactory”Carrefour recognized the “high quality” of the local product. But the purchasing policy did not change.
“Brazil has to prepare to face a hail of stones as it advances, disputes and divides new markets. As you disturb outside, tighten our image. If you want to be great, you have to prepare to be great and use the correct and professional weapons to do so.”said Zequinha Marinho in an interview.
Watch the full text (34min25s):
Marinho is 65 years old and is in his first term as senator. Previously, he was vice-governor of Pará and federal deputy for 3 terms.
For the congressman, part of the president’s government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and of the Public Ministry are allies of the European groups that question the national product. He named the Minister of the Environment, .
“Their biggest ally is Marina Silva. In the end, it is the entire government, the Public Ministry. Everyone speaks the same language and puts the knife in the Brazilian producer’s throat”these.
Read excerpts from the interview:
Its project that provides for environmental reciprocity gained traction after Carrefour suspended the purchase of meat from Mercosul. Brazil, in agreements, could require the partner country to follow the same rules here. Is it the ideal answer?
Between the ideal and the possible there is a certain space. I don’t consider it ideal, but a tool that will help us to sit at the table as a country that is interested in sustainability around the world. It’s a global issue. Just as Europe is interested in Brazil being a sustainable country, we also want Europe to be a sustainable continent. Today we sit at the table with nothing in our hands and we will have it. We are no one’s colony. Do you want to compare the rules? Excellent. There, they do not have riparian forests on the sides of rivers and sources. Here we have it. The environmental code is very strict.
There are 2 projects. Yours, in the Senate, and Tião Medeiros’s, in the Chamber. Which should be processed?
Arthur Lira promised to speed up and chose rapporteur urgently and will set the agenda. We’re going to run too. The 2 projects will meet and we will get the best of each one.
After a boycott by Brazilian producers, Carrefour backed down and said that the local product had “high quality”. But he did not go back on his decision not to buy meat from Mercosur. Was the tone of the letter sufficient?
No. The letter does not satisfy. It didn’t have the same publicity. The issue is not just the meat. It defames the Brazilian image. It’s simple because of the amount of damage it caused. The Brazilian Carrefour is the chain’s 2nd global earner. I myself, since the Danone problem, said at home that I don’t want to see anything from France. You have to do this, be proud of yourself. We demand something better. The CNA [Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil] opened an office in Brussels and hired an internationally recognized lawyer and will begin prosecuting this type of defamatory statement. We have to show outside who we are to shame this European policy that says a lot of things and doesn’t do anything that it asks of others. But we have to improve our image too.
As? With a PR campaign in Europe?
Yes. It’s past time. Brazilian agriculture is very efficient. The Europeans have competence, but they are driven by subsidies. Our production is cheaper, despite poor logistical conditions. Rain is regular and we harvest at least two crops a year. Sometimes 3. The result is that we have the cheapest product, also influenced by the exchange rate. This upsets everyone. Brazil has to prepare to face a hail of stones as it advances, disputes and divides new markets. These countries finance NGOs, use Indians and quilombolas. If you are going to meet the volume of indigenous land requests in Brazil, you will have to return the country and move to Portugal. As you disturb outside, tighten our image. If you want to be great, you have to prepare to be great and use the correct and professional weapons to do so.
How long should the conflict continue?
Until Carrefour uses the same tool to apologize that it used to publish the defamation. Make a well-requested, correct apology and let’s start the conversation again. We need each other. Who is France or Europe to talk about sustainability with Brazil? In Brazil, the minimum legal reserve is 20% of the production area. The maximum reserve in Europe is 4%. They have 10% of the original vegetation territory. We, 66%. Brazil has 30% of its territory in public reserves, 14% of its territory designated as indigenous reserves and 92% in a clean energy matrix. Brazil accounts for only 2.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Are we the strays there? No.
This crisis could, in some way, influence COP30 [Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre as Mudanças Climáticas de 2025]?
Agriculture is very stagnant in relation to COP30. With each COP comes a greater burden of production restrictions. In this case, they will say to produce less Amazonia.
Is the federal government providing the correct response to the crisis?
No. It’s next to there. Their biggest ally is the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva. It’s the entire government, the Public Ministry and a large part of the press. Everyone speaks the same language and puts the knife in the Brazilian producer’s throat.
But the Minister of Agriculture supported the Brazilian meatpackers’ boycott of Carrefour.
Correct. But he is a person who comes from the productive sector and from a highly producing state, which is Mato Grosso.
What is the role of Pará in Brazil’s sustainable development agenda and in the transition to a greener economy?
I’ll take an example. The fire. Family farming uses fire to clear the area. He doesn’t have money for machinery, like the big producers, who don’t use fire. And when they make a fire, no matter how dangerous it is, the earth reacts through the potassium in the ash. If I remove the fire, I’ll have to find fertilizer. Financing is important for small producers to mechanize and purchase fertilizers. But the government has not done this. Financing technology improves production, reduces labor and increases money. If I correct the means of production, I increase sustainability.
Can the approval of the commercialization of carbon credits reduce deforestation?
If you do it correctly, yes. We had to correct the bill that arrived from the Chamber. We hope it stays. In part of Pará, the legal reserve is 80%. Under the previous rule, the government could take your reservation without you knowing. Now, you can take it, but the guy has to be aware and give permission.
You defend the use of environmental bonds for financial matters. What is the impact?
Ibama [Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis] he only knows how to fine and embargo. Then your land becomes unviable. You have to join the environmental regularization program and pay your debts to the federal government. I’m going to tell you something that happened in Novo Progresso (PA). By satellite, Ibama saw a hot spot. They fined. But the owner entered the forest and went to the location: an open field with water. It gives a huge reflection and the satellite perceived it as fire and Ibama embargoed it and fined it. Then you only receive the announcement. It’s a weird business to embargo via satellite. I defend that the producer can use his property title to pay the fines and negotiate with the government.
You were a member of the former president’s PL. He was recently cited as the leader of an alleged coup plot. Did he lead a coup attempt?
I want to wait because I’m in disbelief about this. Personally, I don’t believe that President Bolsonaro has given any kind of support to this kind of thing. Maybe some advisors, ministers. But that he even did this I have a lot of doubts. Let’s wait. I hope that narratives are not constructed within the political struggle. It’s not a workhorse. I pray in prayer that the investigations be impartial, technical, correct and fair, not political.
What is President Lula’s relationship with Congress like?
Congress is very calm and Lula has a lot of dialogue skills. He doesn’t talk to everyone, but he talks to the leaders, like the presidents of the Chamber and Senate and the leaders of the parties. We have a group of around 36 senators who are not opposition, but independent. Podemos, my party, even helps the government when it thinks it is good for Brazil. But he is not an ally. Congress has been a partner due to the difficulties the country faces. But increased spending will not be supported. And the government likes to spend. But we are not enemies, despite our resistance to principles and values and certain things that are normal for them and not for us. And there will be no support from Congress for increased spending. And the government likes to spend.
