FILE PHOTO: A fire burns a tract of Amazon jungle as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Porto Velho, Brazil August 27, 2019. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's furious reaction to foreign criticism of his handling of Amazon fires reflects the sacred place the vast region occupies in the minds of Brazil's military, for whom the rainforest is almost a raison d'être.
While many around the world view the Amazon as a vital defence against climate change, within Brazil's military the sparsely developed region represents a sprawling, resource-rich asset that they believe foreigners are desperate to control.
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