Brazil considers relaxing code protecting the

Amazo

Within the next few months, the Brazilian government is going to have to decide whether to approve proposals to relax the Forest Code, which is designed to protect the Amazon rainforest.

Farmers and agricultural businesses want to be allowed to cultivate more of their land, but environmentalists say the code should

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) says that deforestation during the month of May amounted to 268 square miles, a rise of 144 percent over May 2010. 35 percent of the clearing occurred in Mato Grosso, the state where agricultural expansion is fast-occurring.