The world’s eyes watched closely for the Brazilian presidential election. On Saturday, editorials from important international magazines such as Nature, Science and The New York Times (NYT) positioned themselves in favor of the candidate Lula.
For Nature magazine, there would be “just one choice for Brazil’s election – for the country and for the world”, since the chance of a Bolsonaro’s second term would represent a threat to science, democracy and the environment. For Science magazine, a second run would corrode scientific research even more and accelerate deforestation in the Amazon. NYT stated that the winner would ‘inherit’ the control over more than half of Amazonian rain forest and, consequently, would determine the condition for future life on Earth.
The catastrophic way Jair Bolsonaro has handled the Brazilian environment preservation is widely known by everyone who tracks the issue. During his term, deforestation rates in the Amazon increased by more than 70%, while fires intensified even when weather conditions did not favor them. Such outcomes resulted from a worldview that denies climate change and the importance of a balanced environment. Neglect with Conservation Units, Indigenous Lands and their peoples, lack of punishment for environmental crimes and tolerance of illegal activities such as mining and logging were constant.
On the other hand, Lula’s government promoted an unprecedented achievement on the protection of Amazon. From 2003 to 2010, there was total reduction of about 80% in the region. In the beginning of his term, deforestation reached about 27 thousand km² and managed to be reduced to the level of 7 thousand km², at the end of Lula’s second term. The concentrated effort to protect the Amazon, through a structured inter-ministerial policy and international cooperation, allowed for such success when it seemed an unthinkable reality at that time. So, can we assure deforestation levels at that time reached acceptable levels? Certainly not, it needed to be reduced even further. Can we say that Lula government's environmental policy was perfect? Certainly not, there were many points to be improved concerning socio-environmental issues. But there was an intention to do the ‘right thing’, a lot of dialogue and collaboration, allowing institutions, such as Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) [National Institute for Space Research], to carry out the necessary work. Throughout Bolsonaro’s government, the role of these institutions and their leaders were constantly diminished and attacked.
On Sunday (30), during his first speech as president elect, Lula reaffirmed his commitment with the environmental agenda of the country. He said that Brazil is ready to resume its leading role in the fight against the climate crisis and in the protection of its biomes, above all, the Amazon Forest. He declared that his government would fight for zero deforestation in the Amazon. He is committed to resuming monitoring and surveillance in the region and fighting any and all illegal activity. He also said that he would be open to international cooperation for its preservation.
On October 31, just one day after Lula's victory, the Norwegian Minister of Environment announced that he would resume financial support to the Brazilian government to combat deforestation. Norway’s contribution to the Amazon Fund had been suspended during Bolsonaro’s government, which never valued international cooperation. Many world leaders promptly congratulated the newly elected President Lula, mainly highlighting the country's environmental leadership and the role of the Amazon in the fight against climate change. Regaining the chance to preserve the Amazon – the largest rain forest in the world – is a victory not only for Brazil, but for the entire humanity.
