Proposals on environmental protection gain importance in Brazilian election campaign

Proposals on environmental protection have become one of the priorities of the leading candidates for the Brazilian presidency.

Government plans include issues such as controlling deforestation, transitioning to renewable energy sources, and the bioeconomy.

The top favorite to win the Oct. 2 election, former President socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, current President conservative-religious Jair Bolsonaro, and Ciro Gomes and Simone Tebet, have addressed the environmental issue from an economic perspective.

The government programs of the four leading candidates include strategies for economic growth and positioning the country in global geopolitics in response to the diplomatic crisis triggered by the explosive deforestation during Jair Bolsonaro’s term.

The government plan of Lula da Silva, candidate of the Workers’ Party (PT, left), promises to support the “emergence of an inclusive green economy based on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity in all Brazilian biomes.”

For his part, Jair Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL, right) is trying to correct the course of environmental discourse.

However, he is the only one of the four leading candidates who has not included an end to illegal deforestation as a goal in his mandate.

Bolsonaro’s election platform discusses “expanding Brazil’s role as a provider of climate solutions and establishing itself as a world leader in an environmentally friendly global supply chain.”

The text speaks of “freedom of responsible use of the natural resources that are rightfully available to any individual or community,” mentioning indigenous peoples, quilombola, and riverine peoples.

Finally, in his electoral program, Ciro Gomes of the Labour Party writes that “Brazil’s growth necessarily requires a clear environmental agenda that can show that a standing forest is worth much more than a deforested field.”

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