Brazilian President Lula da Silva makes Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, entered the list of the 100 most influential people of 2023, formulated and released today by Time magazine.

Lula da Silva shares the list with the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, as well as other leaders such as the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and King Charles III.

In a brief profile, Time magazine pointed out that after years of state-sanctioned environmental degradation and destruction in Brazil, Lula da Silva chose a new path by electing the climate issue as one of the central points of his third term, which began on January 1.

“As president, Lula promised to strengthen Brazil’s position in the world – renewing the country’s commitment to democracy, justice, and economic equity.”

“But in no other area can he make a more significant impact than on the twin crises of climate and biodiversity,” highlights the magazine’s profile of Lula da Silva, signed by Al Gore, former US vice president and founder and President of the Climate Reality Project.

“Brazil is home to one of the most important natural wonders of our planet: the Amazon rainforest.”

“After many years of increasing deforestation and forest fires, the Amazon is transforming from a carbon sink into a net source of emissions.”

“President Lula promised to protect the Amazon and has done so before – reducing deforestation by 72% in his previous term,” he added.

The profile concluded by arguing that combating forest loss and accelerating the transition to clean energy in Brazil make Lula da Silva’s leadership “critical in this decisive decade for climate action.”

In 2011, former President Dilma Rousseff made the Times’s list of the 100 most influential people.

Former president Jair Bolsonaro was named Time’s 2021 personality of the year, which described him as a “controversial leader.”

With information from Lusa