This growth in interest, however, did not homogenously translate into votes in the Amazon region. Indeed, for young people between 16 to 24 years old, protection of the Amazon was a key priority for how they would choose their presidential candidate this year.įive of the nine states located in the Amazon region have elected state governors that are Bolsonaro supporters. Pre-election polling by Poder 360, for example, showed that there was an increase in public opinion saying that they would prefer to vote for a candidate that protects the Amazon and the environment. This presidential election also demonstrates how far climate change has become a key political issue in Brazil. However, the environmental movement largely regarded these as empty promises being familiar with Bolsonaro’s tactics of decoupling between what he says abroad and what he delivers at home. Conversely, he adopted some climate promises as a result of pressure from some of his supporters from the agribusiness sector that depend on the export market. However, Bolsonaro did not prioritize the Brazilian Amazon this time around nor did he try to stoke polarization on indigenous people.

In contrast, in 2022, all of the major presidential candidates – Simone Tebet, Ciro Gomes and Lula – adopted a strong environmental agenda. Indeed, he was elected with 52 per cent of the vote with the help of seven out of nine states in the Amazon region. Instead, he explicitly rejected forest protection, promised not to expand indigenous territorial rights and threatened to take Brazil out of the Paris Agreement. In 2018, Bolsonaro was the first presidential candidate to put the Brazilian Amazon explicitly on a presidential campaign trail but it was not to protect the Amazon or its indigenous population. The rate of deforestation increased by under Jair Bolsonaro.

Cautious optimism