This week, the STF considered as constitutional the main articles of the Forest Code, including the exemption of fines and punishments from landowners who have adhered to the Environmental Regularization Programs of their states.
The amnesty of fines was provided for in the Forestry Code since 2012, but an action filed by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) and the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL) question the constitutionality of the measure.
The issue divided opinions between representatives of agribusiness and organizations that defend the preservation of the environment. For the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), the decision of the STF will bring legal security for Brazilian farmers, especially for family farmers.
“Much of the food production comes from small producers, who would be the biggest losers with any change in the law,” CNA president João Martins said in a statement.
On the other hand, Greenpeace states that, in fact, family farmers have no benefit from the provisions of the Forestry Code. “They wrote a law that uses the small producer – and those who really deserve different treatment in the law – to present land grabbers and mafias operating in the forest,” said Marcio Astrini, coordinator of Public Policies for Greenpeace Brazil .
Also favorable to the opinion of the supreme court, the Brazilian Rural Society (SRB) said that the measure will allow Brazil to structure economically viable models for the implementation of the Forest Code, in addition to providing new investments for agribusiness.