The number of fires and the area burned in the Amazon rainforest increase at an alarming rate every year. However, satellite photos show that the increase in the number of fires to the area burned last year was significantly lower than in previous years. Last year, a government spent millions of dollars on preventing and fighting fires in the Amazon rainforest. The government claimed that the satellite data showed that the government's efforts to prevent and extinguish fires had achieved remarkable results.
The statement 'Last year the country spent significantly less on preventing and fighting fires in the Amazon rainforest than in previous years' would most weaken the government's conclusion above.