Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro has used an executive order to give his government secretary potentially far-reaching and restrictive powers over non-governmental organizations working in Brazil.
The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, mandates that the office of the Government Secretary, Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz, "supervise, coordinate, monitor and accompany the activities and actions of international organizations and non-governmental organizations in the national territory."
The order, signed late on Tuesday, is part of a raft of measures the far-right Bolsonaro administration implemented on its first day in power.
They include a decree that makes the Agriculture Ministry responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, a move that is a victory for agribusiness.
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Bolsonaro took issue with NGOs that he said "exploited and manipulated" the country's indigenous population of about 900,000.
"Let us together integrate these citizens and value all Brazilians," he wrote.
Protection of Amazon
Bolsonaro is a former army captain and his cabinet is full of former high-ranking military officials — including Santos Cruz, a retired general.
Brazil's military has long considered that the rich resources of the vast, sparsely populated Amazon should be protected from any foreign interest.
Environmental and rights groups were already upset by the decision to give the agriculture ministry power over indigenous land rights decisions, and the latest move risks causing further tension with such groups.
A longtime member of Congress, Bolsonaro said at his inauguration on Tuesday that he had freed the country from "socialism and political correctness."
