Verbal aggressions against the minister reveal how the environmental debate is being buried by machismo and legal setbacks
Today it was the scene of another unfortunate chapter in Brazilian environmental policy. During a public hearing, the Environment Minister, left the session after being aggressively and disrespectfully attacked by parliamentarians. What was seen was not just the divergence of ideas, but gender political violence. “I was assaulted doing my job,” said the minister, in a sentence that sums up the scene that indicated experts, environmentalists and even the first lady, who came out in her defense. The speech of Senator Plínio Valério, by stating that he respected “the marina woman, but not the minister”, opened the misogyny that still marks Congress. The treatment, according to an official note from the Ministry of Women, was “severe, absurd and misogynistic”. Marina Silva is not any figure in the political scene. Former syringe, literate at age 16, she became a symbol of social and environmental struggle, helped reduce Amazon deforestation by 83% in the 2000s, and was recognized worldwide as one of the greatest climate defenders. By leaving her vulnerable to attacks, the Senate not only hurts a woman. It hurts decades of environmental and political advances that it represents. The moment is even more serious when we remember what is at stake. The attempt to dismantle the, flexing the protection of sensitive areas and emptying Brazilian climate policy occurs precisely while the country is preparing to host to. A painful paradox: Brazil wants to lead global environmental discourse, but silences one of its main voices.
It’s not just Marina Silva. This is what it represents: science, sustainability, consistency. To attack it is to attack the Brazilian environmental policy. And unfortunately, these attacks have found echo in a congress increasingly willing to give in to the pressure of groups that see the environment as an obstacle – and not as strategic assets. Marina’s departure from the audience is symbolic. It shows the limits of dialogue in an environment where the debate is replaced by intimidation. But it also reveals its consistency: Marina does not shut up, even when they try to heal it. And her story proves that, in the face of injustice, she always responds more firmly and even more.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the young Pan.
