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I posted a thread back in January about how Lula da Silva's return to power is good news for the world, not just for Brazil (https://social.coop/users/dynamic/statuses/109619913139314834), but I'm impressed that the shift in Amazon conservation has been so rapid.

Slowing deforestation of the Amazon is indeed something to celebrate, but there are some important caveats.

First, slower deforestation is still deforestation. We should be aiming for none and working toward letting the forest come back. We aren't there yet.

Second, Bolsonaro was actively working to promote deforestation activities, so improvement relative to the Bolsonaro regime is a bit of a low bar.

Still, the rapid progress is impressive.

Lula's electoral victory was terrifyingly narrow, and this month Brazil's Congress passed legislation undermining Lula's progress toward re-empowering indigenous land-defenders: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/outcry-as-brazil-congress-overrides-president-to-revive-anti-indigenous-law/

Meanwhile Brazil’s Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) is working on auctioning off new blocks for oil exploration, including some in the Amazon Basin:
https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/mega-oil-and-gas-auction-in-brazil-may-threaten-indigenous-lands/

Not all of the news is good.

(edited to correct link)

@jotaemei

I sincerely hope he can do it. It's not implausible that he would, but it's also premature to celebrate victory.

It would help if he had the support of Brazil's legislature.

@dynamic He’s not going to any support for deforestation in the legislature, and unlike the US, there are no midterm elections. The lowest chamber serves a term of 4 years - just like the president. So, the next chance for a congressional shake up will be when there will be a presidential election (in 2026). For assorted reasons, the Brazilian congress is full of people that are asking, “What’s in it for me?,” and agribusiness and the logging industry provide the answer. :(