Ricardo Salles, Brazil’s environmental minister, suggested the government should take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to "change all the rules" and "simplify norms" around environmental regulations, a recent cabinet meeting video showed Friday.
"We need to make an effort, while we are in this moment of calm in terms of press coverage, because they are only talking about Covid-19 to change all the rules and simplify norms," Salles said during the April 22 cabinet meeting. "Now is the time to join forces and simplify regulations."
Salles also said during the meeting that the government "would not need Congress" because "they wouldn't get anything approved."
The video of the closed-door cabinet meeting was released by the Supreme Court Friday, as part of an investigation into accusations that President Jair Bolsonaro interfered in police matters.
Salles wrote on his personal Twitter Friday, "I always defended de-bureaucratization and simplifying the norms in all areas, using common sense and within the law. The web of irrational rules impedes investments, the creation of new jobs and the sustainable development of Brazil."