Little talk of rainforest protection in the Brazilian Amazon

by FABIANO MAISONNAVE

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Like other Brazilians, residents of the Amazon will elect governors and lawmakers in general elections in October. But as the campaign takes the streets, current record-breaking deforestation rates and other environmental problems gather scant attention from candidates and voters. Instead, many candidates vie for who has bolder promises to relax legal restrictions on gold mining, expand deforestation for agribusiness and open highways. The few who run on an environmental platform struggle to be competitive and face public hostility.