Environment in Focus for Lula’s Third Stint as Brazil’s President

After beating Jair Bolsonaro in October to become Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office this week. He was president before, from 2003-10. This will be his third time in the role. He wants to end hunger and poverty in Brazil. The nation is the largest in South America. 

Bolsonaro was the president before Lula. He is politically far-right. Lula is leftist. 

Lula is focused on the environment. He has a different stance than Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro did little to protect the environment. Lula recreated the Amazon Fund. It had not worked under Bolsonaro. The fund allows foreign governments to help pay to conserve the Amazon. 

“Our goal is to achieve zero deforestation in the Amazon and zero greenhouse gas emissions,” Lula said. A national research group said the deforestation rate under Lula when he was president before dropped 70.3%. That was from 2002-11. Under Bolsonaro it increased 73.3% from 2018-21, the group said. 

Lula also started a Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. Sônia Guajajara will lead it. “This is … a historic moment of reparation,” she told PBS.  

Lula's actions made investors worry. The stock market in Brazil went down about 5% in the last few days. It went back up 1% yesterday. 

Bolsonaro is facing legal troubles. He left the country for Florida last week. 

Photo from Reuters.