SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s upcoming presidential election could reshape the Amazon’s future. Control of the country, which contains about 60% of the rainforest, could pass to Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Experts warn a Bolsonaro victory could reverse deforestation-control policies restored by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. During Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency, Amazon deforestation surged by about 60%. Lula reinstated an anti-deforestation plan in 2023, reducing deforestation by 45%. Flávio Bolsonaro pledges to end illegal deforestation by 2029 but has not detailed how. Concerns remain about potential weakening of environmental protections.
By Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Associated Press
Banner image: A forest burns in the Amazon, in the municipality of Manaquiri in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Image courtesy of Edmar Barros, Associated Press.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Mongabay, and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
