Lula da Silva will ask EU for help in unlocking Amazon’s economic potential if he wins election

Brazil’s former president and socialist presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said today he is ready to ask the European Union for help in exploring the economic potential of the Amazon’s biodiversity if he wins the October elections.

In a meeting with European parliamentarians in Brasilia, Lula da Silva said that while Brazil owns the Amazon rainforest, it needs outside help to explore the region’s economic potential and promote its development without harming the environment.

“To be very clear, if I win the elections, Brazil needs the help of the European Union. We need help, we need agreements, whether for investment or for the exchange of science and technology, to participate in building a cleaner world,” he said.

For Lula da Silva, “Brazil must share the studies so that all the wealth that exists in the Amazon can be discovered. Brazil will not close its mind, but intends to sign agreements with many countries to study biodiversity in the Amazon.”

For the Brazilian presidential candidate, “the Amazon is important for the survival of humanity, and therefore we all have the responsibility to take care of it. We don’t want to turn the Amazon into a sanctuary for humanity, but we want to explore its biodiversity,” he added.

Lula da Silva, who argues that Brazil can grow economically without destroying the Amazon forest and that it is possible to feed the 30 million people who live in the Amazon region without deforestation, said some alternatives are researching medicines and cosmetics that use products from the Amazon without killing trees or plants.

Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party is leading in all polls to win the Oct. 2 election.