Jair Bolsonaro’s victory in Brazil’s presidential election could be a disaster for the Amazon, but his opponents can unite, say Mary Menton and Felipe Milanez

Andrzej Krauze

JAIR BOLSONARO will be the next president of Brazil. He has been labelled a fascist and a threat to human rights; The New Yorker called him “part Donald Trump, part Rodrigo Duterte“.

Soon after his victory at the polls, Bolsonaro announced that he would combine the ministries of environment and agriculture, effectively removing the normal checks and balances that help protect Amazonian forests. The country’s National Institute for Space Research estimates that deforestation in Brazil could increase by 268 per cent if Bolsonaro’s policies are all carried out. In the light of this, plus his promise that …