Victory for the Amazon: Lula wins Brazil's 2022 presidential election

Here at Jjungl HQ, we strive not to mix politics with business on our platform.

We don’t care which political tribe you belong to.

We just care if you are kind to yourself and mindful of others and the planet.

But, the announcement of the new Brazilian president got us hopeful on a subject dear to us.

On the 30th of October, conservationists around the world breathed a sigh of relief as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly secured the country’s presidency, and possibly the future of the Amazon Rainforest, the "lungs of the world."

Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2010, beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by just 1.8 per cent of the votes in the divisive presidential election.

Bolsonaro, who took office at the start of 2019, has pushed for more mining and commercial farming in the Amazon, saying it would develop the region economically and help to fight poverty.

He has weakened environmental enforcement agencies, cutting their budgets and staff while making it more difficult to punish environmental criminals.

Lula has pledged to remove illegal miners and ranchers clearing the Amazon. Among his more ambitious proposals are the subsidisation of sustainable farming, the creation of a ministry dedicated to Indigenous peoples and a National Climate Change Authority that ensures Brazil’s policies are in line with its Paris Agreement goals.

His administration is expected to set new climate targets after they were rolled back by Bolsonaro.

We hope to see affirmative action by the new president. We pray the preservation of the Amazon is enshrined in legislation so that future presidents with insidious, ulterior motives cannot break it without breaking the law.