Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro leaves the transitional government headquarters in Brasilia on Dec. 11, 2018. AFPFires still ragingOfficial figures do not back Bolsonaro's account that the fires are under control.Amazon deforestation nearly doubled in the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period in 2018, to 6,404 square kilometers (2,472 square miles) -- more than twice the size of Luxembourg.The acceleration in deforestation has been blamed for the sharp increase in fires this year, which official figures show have reached nearly 124,000, as land is cleared and burned to make way for cattle grazing or crops.A decrease in rain and a recent heat wave together with strong winds are also factors in the blazes.Bolsonaro defended his policies on indigenous people, whom he has a long record of disparaging -- once wishing they had been exterminated by early colonizers.'Some people both inside and outside Brazil, supported by NGOs... have insisted on treating and keeping our Indians as though they were real cavemen,' he said, suggesting his development plans would raise their quality of life.Bolsonaro used the international stage to take personal aim at environmentalist and indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire, accusing the critic of his administration of being a tool of foreign governments to advance their interests.Speaking Monday, the chief told reporters: 'What Bolsonaro is doing today in the Amazon is opening it to range of actors, permitting the destruction of the Amazon.'This is not just bad for us indigenous people, it is a disaster for all humanity.' AFPAFP/CC
