Lula vowed to safeguard the Amazon. After Bolsonaro, it won't be easy.
By Paulina Villegas and Sarah Kaplan
October 31, 2022 at 6:53 p.m. EDT
An area of Amazon forest is cut down on private rural property in Brazil's Acre state in July. (Rafael Vilela for The Washington Post)
BRASILIA — When Luis Inácio Lula da Silva was elected president of Brazil on Sunday, Gustavo Conde felt a sense of relief — for himself and everyone.
“It feels like we can breathe again,” the 23-year-old cook said in downtown Brasilia. “And so will the planet.”
If Lula keeps his campaign promises to safeguard the Amazon rainforest, analysts say, Brazil could have a major impact on the worldwide fight against climate change, after years of accelerating deforestation under President Jair Bolsonaro. Scientists warn that the lungs of the planet, vital to slowing global warming, are approaching a tipping point.
“Let’s fight for zero deforestation. The planet needs the Amazon alive,” Lula, who served two terms as president from 2003 to 2010, said in his victory address Sunday night. “A standing tree is worth more than tons of wood illegally harvested by those who think only of easy profit.”
During the bitterly fought campaign, Lula made the environment central to his pitch. Whereas Bolsonaro has promoted the development of the rainforest, Lula pledged to reverse many of his policies.
On Sunday, he vowed to restart the surveillance and monitoring of the rainforest, stop the invasion and burning of Indigenous lands, and fight other environmental crimes, including mining.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil's president-elect, poses for a supporter in São Paulo on Sunday after defeating President Jair Bolsonaro. (Tuane Fernandes/Bloomberg News)
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