Brazil election: Bolsonaro threatens the Amazon – and the West sniffs out profit
The socialist incumbent Lula or the right-wing populist Flávio Bolsonaro: On October 25, Brazil goes to the polls. A decision on direction also for the rainforest and its natural resources.
Salvador, Brazil is set to decide the fate of its rainforest during a special runoff election on October 25th. The result of this vote could determine the future of the Amazon rainforest, which is vital for combating climate change. The first round of voting took place on October 4th, where the surprise winner was Flávio Bolsonaro, the 47-year-old son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. He secured 47% of the votes, while his opponent, incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, received 45%.
The runoff will see the Bolsonaro and Lula camps face off once more. However, little is known about Flávio Bolsonaro's government agenda, which appears to be a continuation of his father's plans. Jair Bolsonaro, now imprisoned after attempting a coup in 2022, left the Amazon rainforest in a state of uncontrolled deforestation when he left office.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
