Facts: Lula da Silva
Born as Luiz Inácio da Silva in 1945 in the poor state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil.
Began to be called Lula (“octopus”) when he became a union figure in São Paulo’s giant industrial estates in the 1970s. A few years later, he officially added the nickname to his name and is now just called Lula in his home country.
Is a trained turner and has never studied at university. Lost a finger in a work accident in the 1960s. His left-wing pathos is said to stem from the experience of being turned away bleeding from several hospitals before finally receiving treatment.
Ran as social democratic leader in several presidential elections from 1989 onwards before finally winning in 2002.
After ruling for two terms, Lula stepped down in failing health in 2011.
Was involved in a wide-ranging political scandal that ended with him being sentenced to prison in 2017 on corruption charges. The sentence was later overturned after it was established that the judge had been biased.
In the even election on October 30 last year, Lula won with 50.9 percent of the vote, against Jair Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent.
— There should be no contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection.
Lula da Silva was optimistic when, in a speech in June, he put into words the dilemma facing the whole world.
The president promised continued efforts against the devastation of the Amazon and support for new sustainable jobs for the millions of poor people who live in the rainforest region.
Since the left-wing leader took office last winter, his government has deployed the military to drive out illegal scavengers and gold diggers, funneled money to sustainability projects and put forward plans to protect indigenous land in the rainforest.
And the policy seems to have yielded results. During Lula’s first six months in power, deforestation in the Amazon fell by 33.6 percent, according to satellite data from the space agency Inpe. The trend has continued – during July a reduction of as much as 66 percent was noted compared to the same month last year.
The plan is to completely stop illegal devastation by 2030, a promise that has been praised internationally. The Amazon is a global concern, even in terms of money. A protected South American rainforest can be valued at over 300 billion dollars annually, not least because of its role in sequestering carbon dioxide, according to the World Bank.
Lula wants to stop the devastation of the Amazon. Stock image. Downwind globally
Lula has made the climate his foreign policy profile issue. He is also committed to regional cooperation around the rainforest and appeals to the outside world for support in the green transition.
— We know that we have a responsibility to convince the world that investments are cheap if it’s about saving the rainforest, said the president before a meeting with the other Amazonian countries at the beginning of August.
— The world must help us preserve and develop the Amazon.
Lula’s actions stand in stark contrast to the rule of right-wing nationalist representative Jair Bolsonaro, who, citing economic development, weakened environmental restrictions and unleashed a sharp increase in the rate of deforestation.
Lula’s turnaround has lured back foreign donations to the Amazon Fund, whose operations were frozen under Bolsonaro’s government. The fund, which finances work against devastation, has been supported by money mainly from Norway and Germany and has now received new promises of contributions from, among others, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Lula’s is also expected to be able to use his environmental profile as diplomatic lubricant in ongoing negotiations on a new free trade agreement with the EU.
But even if green promises give a tailwind around the world, Lula faces a backlash at home.
Courageous in Congress
During the president’s previous rule from 2003 to 2011, when he lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty with the help of a booming economy and social reforms, he was able to lean on record high popularity figures. Now the old trade unionist needs to muster all his well-known pragmatism to get some policy through.
The victory over Bolsonaro last year was narrow. At the same time, the opponent’s allied parties gained ground in Congress. Lula is therefore forced to negotiate across a broad ideological spectrum, with an emphasis on the center and the right.
Congress – dominated by members loyal to the powerful agribusiness industry hungry for cropland and grazing land in the Amazon – has already put a damper on the government’s environmental ambitions. Recently, laws were hammered out that reduce the powers of both the Ministry of the Environment and the newly created Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. The House of Commons has also voted in favor of a proposal to limit the right of indigenous peoples to claim land.
Lula may try to use his veto power against decisions like these. But he must choose his battles carefully to manage his political capital.
Indigenous people in the state of Para in a demonstration in support of the protection of the Amazon 2020.Internal fissures
Congress’s show of force followed a decision by environmental agency Ibama to stop state oil giant Petrobras’ planned drilling in sensitive ecosystems in northern Brazil. Lula’s embattled environment minister Marina Silva firmly stands behind Ibama’s decision. But even within the government there are cracks.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, has described oil extraction as an important opportunity for development in the impoverished region.
Marina Silva, internationally praised for her many years of environmental commitment, left Lula’s government at the time in 2008 after internal conflicts over new infrastructure projects. Another defection would tarnish the outside world’s image of Lula as the protector of the Amazon. At the same time, new oil revenues tempt the treasury for a president who promised both gold and green forests.
Lula also needs to take a stand on plans for a highway and train track through the Amazon. Proponents speak of important trade routes, while critics point out that the construction would tear up deep wounds in the very heart of the rainforest.
However, the World Bank gives Lula the right that it is possible to combine economic development with a preserved Amazon. But in that case, a shift in focus is required from the export of raw materials that drives the exploitation of nature to increased productivity in sectors such as manufacturing and services.
“A difficult balancing act”, as the World Bank’s report notes.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva listens to his Environment Minister Marina Silva during an event in Brasília in June where new measures against deforestation were presented.