04/12/2019 06:01 pm ET Updated 5 hours ago
New York museum leaders are deeply concerned about an event honoring climate-denying Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro. But they havent yet canceled it.
By Travis Waldron, Alexander C. Kaufman, and Ana Beatriz Rosa
NEW YORK ― The American Museum of Natural History refused to say Friday whether it will cancel an event honoring Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right president of Brazil who has spent the opening days of his term stripping protections from the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people who live in it.
The May 14 event will be a private gala organized by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, a business group that plans to honor Bolsonaro as the Brazilian of the Year. The group organized and announced the event last month, but the museums decision to host it drew criticism this week from activists who said it should be ashamed.
The museum, which calls itself one of the worlds preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, responded to the criticism Thursday, saying on Twitter that the event had been booked before Bolsonaro was confirmed as a guest and that it was deeply concerned about his attendance.
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We are deeply concerned, and the event does not in any way reflect the Museums position that there is an urgent need to conserve the Amazon Rainforest, which has such profound implications for biological diversity, indigenous communities, climate change, and the future health of our planet, the statement said.
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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bolsonaro-brazil-amazon-museum-natural-history_n_5cb0d4d9e4b082aab085632e