The world's lungs breathed a sigh of relief when Lula won.

Oct 31, 2022

Lula elected as the next President of Brazil

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, won one of the most critical elections in Brazil's history by defeating incumbent far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro. Lula, a former leftist president of the country, had obtained 50.8% of the vote with 99% of the votes counted. Bolsonaro, elected president in 2018, received 49.1% of the votes.

U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated him for winning "free, fair, and credible elections." Adding these words to the statement shows concern about the subsequent developments in one of the world's biggest democracies

“Tropical Trump” lost

Brazil's democratic institutions have long been under siege by President Jair Bolsonaro. As a result, millions of citizens have now questioned the credibility of Brazil's elections. You're not alone if you see a pattern closer to home. Bolsonaro is referred to as the "Tropical Trump" for various reasons, this being just one of them.

Bolsonaro hasn't given in yet while I'm writing these words, late on Sunday evening; he refused to talk or take calls and was alone with his son in the presidential palace for hours while the media waited outside. So I won't predict what he will do next. But, after such a close contest in such a divided society where many voters on both sides considered the election an existential one for the country's future, he will understand the significance of his upcoming actions.

Deforestation in the Amazon

One of the reasons the world has been missing Brazil is the destruction of the Amazon, the world's lungs. Lula and Bolsonaro envisioned opposite fates for the Amazon at a crucial moment. If deforestation continues at current rates, as favored by Bolsonaro, the Amazon will pass an irreversible threshold in just a decade or two. Scientists warn that it would transform the rainforest into a savanna that would release billions of greenhouse gases.

As president, Lula demonstrated great success in drastically reducing Amazon rainforest deforestation. Sadly, Bolsonaro has openly supported clear-cutting and burning in the Amazon for agriculture, reversing this trend. Additionally, he undermined current environmental safeguards and legalized unlawful activity. In protected regions and Indigenous territory, illegal mining and logging grew during his watch, leading to pollution, destruction, and violence.

A "zero-deforestation" target

Tonight, Lula said that he would fight for a "zero-deforestation" target in the Amazon. Note that this is not a zero-illegal-deforestation target; he spoke about all deforestation. Brazil is the world's sixth-largest producer of greenhouse gases, primarily due to methane emissions from cattle pastures on cleared land and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from deforestation. It is also the fourth-largest historical emitter.

Beef production is the primary cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The country exports more beef than any other country worldwide, particularly to the U.S. and Chinese markets.

According to recent research, Luna's victory might stop the destruction of 75,960 km2 of the Amazon rainforest by 2030. The size of that territory is comparable to Panama. Brazil's emissions would be significantly reduced if this were done in conjunction with a renewed emphasis on forest restoration. Researchers from the University of Oxford, the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA), and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) model the implementation of Brazil's Forest Code, the nation's most important piece of legislation for combating deforestation in the Amazon and other ecosystems.

This is a good day for climate action and a good day for The Planet.

And today, the world's lungs breathed a sigh of relief.

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