Brazil’s President Blames Leonardo DiCaprio for Helping Set Fires in Rainforests
(Photo : Reuters)

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has pointed his fingers to Leonardo DiCaprio blaming him to be the one who had paid for the Amazon fire to start.

There was no evidence presented for the president's accusations. In the past, he had accused non-government organizations of starting fires in Amazon rainforests this year.

One highly probable reason for such accusations was their need to acquire funding as stated by the president.

Leonardo DiCaprio had promised a donation of $5 million for the Amazon fire recovery. He had expressed his denial of the accusations pointed to him by the President of Brazil.

The pointing of the finger of who started the fire in the Amazon had started when the firefighters (volunteers) had been arrested for starting fires to acquire donations for funding NGOs.

NGOs, multiple rights groups, and other people concerned claim that the allegations towards them were politically influenced to harass them.

The latest action of the Brazilian president was saying a remark regarding Leonardo DiCaprio giving out funding to set fire in the Amazon. But he was not able to give out any evidence or elaborate on his remark.

His statement was pointed at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an organization that aims to save the environment.

WWF responded to accusations by denying that they had paid people, namely the arrested firefighters, to take photos of the burning forests to acquire additional funding. 

The Brazilian President had also claimed that the WWF had started a campaign against the country of Brazil.

The President's statement also included a message to Leonardo DiCaprio saying that his donation to WWF had been given to those who had started the fire in the first place.

Leonardo DiCaprio had also released a statement answering the allegations of the President of Brazil. 

DiCaprio claims that the organization deserves the help. He also said that the groups that he helped are those that are not causing any attack for the environment's well-being.

The actor also said of the importance of the nonrenewable ecosystems' future and he proudly shares his contributions to the organizations that act to protect these ecosystems.

He had expressed his praise to the citizens of Brazil for their collective efforts to protect and preserve their environment and culture.

WWF had denied that Leonardo DiCaprio had donated to the organization even though Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation primarily aims to support environmental preservation projects.

Some of those who are against the claims of Bolsonaro had expressed their opinions on the matter.

According to Sen. Randolfe Rodrigues, he had said that the President had become desperate, careless, and hopeless for being the one primarily responsible for the environmental problems that had recently occurred. This had led the president to blame other people and organizations such as Leonardo DiCaprio. The senator also said that the president should blame his leadership.

He had also pointed his fingers to farmers who may have illicitly set the forests on fire. He even called the media "lying media" for reporting the fires in the forest.