The election of Flávio Bolsonaro as Brazil‘s president would be a ‘disaster’ for environmental protection, representing an ‘abandonment of all the progress’ the country has made in terms of its climate agenda, Brazilian environmental network Observatório do Clima has suggested.
Commenting following the first round of voting in Brazil’s presidential elections, which saw Bolsonaro perform ahead of current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Observatório do Clima said that a Bolsonaro victory in the second round could lead to the ‘collapse’ of the Amazon, along with protections for Indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
‘Ecocidal playbook’
‘Flávio Bolsonaro denies global warming, sees the environment as an obstacle to economic development, and mocks science,’ the group said in a statement. ‘He is a disciple of the ecocidal playbook of his father, Jair, who bequeathed us the greatest set of socio-environmental and humanitarian setbacks in history.’
As Observatório do Clima noted, Amazon deforestation during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency was 60% higher than the average for the preceding four years, while his tenure also saw an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, invasions of Indigenous lands, pressure on traditional communities and the freezing of financing mechanisms, including the Climate Fund and Amazon Fund.
‘Like father, like son’
According to the group, Flávio Bolsonaro’s voting record indicates that his potential presidency would be a case of ‘like father, like son’ – claiming that the 45-year-old has supported measures to relax environmental licensing rules, and sought to advance legislation that would legalise deforestation on private properties.
The organisation added that Bolsonaro was the only member of Brazil’s 81-seat Senate to vote against the country’s climate adaptation law in 2024.
‘Instead of protecting our cities, we have denialism and disasters, with serious damage and loss of life,’ Observatório do Clima added. ‘Instead of forest restoration, we have environmental dismantling, land grabbing, illegal mining, and deforestation. Instead of guaranteeing rights for indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, and other traditional peoples and communities, we have worsened violence in rural areas, environmental racism, and climate injustice.
‘At the worst moment of the climate crisis, the election of yet another Bolsonaro to the Presidential Palace would be a gift to environmental crime and to those who profit from the destruction of the planet.’
Voting in the second round of Brazil’s presidential election takes place on 25 October. Read more here.
