Carlos Minc took office Tuesday as Brazil's new environment minister after his predecessor Marina Silva resigned over the controversy regarding the Amazon rainforest.
The country's environment policy would remain unchanged, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said at Minc's inauguration ceremony at the Palacio do Planalto, the seat of the Brazilian government.
Marina Silva, a steadfast defender of the Brazilian Amazon, which comprises the largest part of the world's biggest rainforest, resigned two weeks ago after she was caught in a dilemma on the government agenda to tap the area for resources.
Lula praised the former minister's job, saying their friendship would not be affected by her resignation.
The president, who is also a football fan, recalled the 1962 World Cup in Chile as an analogy to the cabinet change.
An injury forced legendary forward Pele to leave the Cup, and Brazilians thought that the national team would lose the championship. The player was then replaced by Amarildo (Tavares Silveira), who scored twice in the final and helped Brazil win its second world title, Lula said.
Lula vowed to press on with ethanol production and refuted foreign charges that biofuels in Brazil were driving up food prices and causing climate change.
They should look at themselves -- their huge carbon emissions, their defective consumption pattern and they should also ask themselves if deforestation is going on in their countries, said the president.
Brazil will not cut down a single tree in the Amazon rainforest for ethanol production, he said.
Minc started his political career in an armed struggle against the military dictatorship in the 1960s, when he was arrested and exiled to Cuba, Chile, France and Portugal. In 1979, he returned to Brazil after an amnesty.
Minc was the secretary of environment of Rio de Janeiro state before accepting Lula's invitation to the position.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/28/content_8267623.htm
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