For the Military, the Brazilian Indian Is a Savage and an Obstacle to Progress 0 views Commodities on the move on the completed southern section of the BR-163 Highway - Roosevelt Pinheiro / Agência Brasil 2 Shares The media portrayal of Brazil’s annual fire season — which in 2020 is trending worse than in 2019 — is “surreal” according to the country’s vice-president, Hamilton Mourão, who spoke during a web seminar on August 27. Not flames and deforestation, but “development” is the biggest challenge ahead for the Amazon, the VP said then. “The Brazilian state is not present in the Amazon,” the former general told the Wall Street Journal one week later. “That is why illegality thrives.” Yet, an enhanced government presence alone is not a solution, he added. Only viable economic opportunities can end the poverty which, according to the VP, is the root cause of environmental destruction there.