Problematic or perilous: Brazil’s environmental choice

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE and DIANE JEANTET
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians go to the polls in October, and they´ll have a choice between reelecting Jair Bolsonaro, or bringing back former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Current President Bolsonaro´s positions on the environment are well known — he has little use for protections or enforcement. Less examined is da Silva’s environmental record: He reduced deforestation, but also built the giant Belo Monte Dam. On his watch, the state development bank made low-interest loans to what became the world’s largest meatpacker, with cattle often raised on deforested land. Bolsonaro has allowed settlers to takeover public land and gold miners to move into indigenous territory.