Far-right win at Brazil polls threatens Amazon, say experts

rio de JaNeiro: Promises by Brazil’s far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro and his entourage bode badly for the future of the Amazon – called the “lungs of the planet” – if he wins, environmentalists warn.

One of his most controversial campaign pledges is to merge the agriculture and environment ministries into one.

“Let us be clear: the future ministry will come from the productive sector,” Bolsonaro, who vows to boost Brazil’s fragile economy, told a media conference four days after winning the Oct 7 first round in the presidential race.

Geraldo Monteiro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said: “As he’s backed by the agribusiness lobby, Bolsonaro virtually wants to make the environment serve the interests of agribusiness.”

Bolsonaro has also several times evoked studies to build hydroelectric power stations in the Amazon, which would greatly impact water courses and require communities to be moved.

That issue has been a contentious one between authorities and indigenous tribes – particularly Belo Monte, which when finished will be the world’s third-biggest dam.

Emilio La Rovere, director of an environmental studies lab at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said Bolsonaro’s campaign promises could have “serious consequences at a global level” and also undermine efforts made over the past 15 years to preserve the country’s exceptional biodiversity.

Bolsonaro has even threatened to follow US President Donald Trump’s example of taking his country out of the Paris climate accord.

“It would be a serious setback to have another major world economy run by a president who denies the importance of fighting climate change,” said Lisa Viscidi, analyst at the US-based think tank The Dialogue.