Following Lula da Silva’s remarkable electoral ‘remontada’, Brazil’s forests may sigh with relief. Lula’s re-election, with 51.8% of votes in the second ballot of Brazil’s presidential elections, averts a second Bolsonaro presidency that seemed to be looming after the first round of elections in early October. It would have threatened to dismantle environmental safeguards, weaken Indigenous territorial rights and accelerate the exploitation of the Amazon. Moreover, Flávio Bolsonaro’s alignment with Donald Trump offered little prospect for a continuation of Brazil’s international leadership for ambitious climate action. The threat was concrete, grounded in both the Bolsonaro family’s track record and Flávio’s personal campaign promises. Yet Brazil’s election was hardly a referendum on forests or climate policy. While forest protection attracts international attention, living costs, corruption and security dominate domestic concerns.
