Lula faces stiff challenge to fulfil vow to reverse Amazon deforestation in Brazil

President’s predecessor Bolsonaro unleashed record destruction and emboldened loggers, land grabbers and illegal miners

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s narrow victory over President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s October elections was hailed as the potential salvation of the Amazon, after four years of unbridled destruction which have brought the rainforest close to a tipping point, threatening the very survival of the Indigenous populations whose lives depend upon it.

Lula has vowed to reverse the environmental destruction wreaked under his far-right predecessor and work towards zero deforestation by tackling crime in the Amazon and guaranteeing the protection of Indigenous rights. But the president-elect, who takes office on 1 January 2023, faces an uphill battle to meet these big promises he has made to the Brazilian people and the international community.

Continue reading...

Six months after Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira were murdered, the Amazon remains unsafe for activists

Activists are cautiously hopeful that the incoming president will bring relief to Bolsonaro’s forest-wrecking administration

It was a hunting shotgun like to the one used to murder Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira – and it was pointing straight at Julia Kanamari’s chest.

“You’ll be next,” she remembers the bleary-eyed gunman snarling after being caught smuggling a boat-load of illegally poached river turtles out of the Javari Valley Indigenous territory in the Brazilian Amazon.

Continue reading...

Pelé is not under palliative care despite reports, says daughter

Flavia Nascimento insists Brazilian footballing great ‘is not saying goodbye right now’

The Brazilian footballing great Pelé has not been moved to palliative care, one of his daughters has said, downplaying reports that he was in end-of-life care after the 82-year-old was hospitalised last week to re-evaluate his treatment for colon cancer.

One of the greatest players of all time, Pelé had a tumour removed from his colon in September 2021 and has been receiving hospital care on a regular basis.

Continue reading...

Brazil judge fines Bolsonaro allies millions after ‘bad faith’ election challenge

Head of Brazil's electoral court rejects claim from outgoing president’s coalition that said voting machines malfunctioned

The head of Brazil’s electoral court has rejected an attempt by outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro’s party to overturn the results of October’s run-off election, which he lost.

Alexandre de Moraes, a supreme court justice, also fined the parties in Bolsonaro’s coalition 22.9m reais ($4.3m) for what the court described as bad faith litigation.

Continue reading...

Bolsonaro derided for ‘senseless’ challenge to Brazil election he lost last month

Court has ratified results of run-off against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva but incumbent claims audit found signs of ‘malfunction’ in some voting machines

Jair Bolsonaro has challenged the Brazilian presidential election he lost last month to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arguing votes from some machines should be “invalidated”.

Bolsonaro’s claim seems unlikely to get far, as Lula’s victory has been ratified by the superior electoral court and acknowledged by Brazil’s leading politicians and international allies. It could however fuel a small but committed protest movement that has so far refused to accept the result.

Continue reading...

Pro-Bolsonaro truck drivers threaten new road blockades in Brazil

Six federal highways blocked on Friday as far-right president has still not conceded defeat in last month’s runoff election

Protesters in Brazil have blocked roads again and lorry drivers threatened to strike in what could be a new wave of support for the outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Six federal highways were blocked on Friday morning although two were cleared by early afternoon, the federal highway police said in its first bulletin on road closures since 9 November when the first wave of post-election protests dissipated.

Continue reading...

Lula vows to undo environmental degradation and halt deforestation

President-elect says he will work to save Amazon rainforest and key ecosystems in rousing Cop27 speech

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has told the world that “Brazil is back” at Cop27, vowing to begin undoing the environmental destruction seen under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, and work towards zero deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.

Followed by a carnival atmosphere wherever he went on Wednesday, Lula told the climate summit that his administration would go further than ever before on the environment by cracking down on illegal gold mining, logging and agricultural expansion, and restoring climate-critical ecosystems.

Continue reading...

Lula faces backlash after flying to Cop27 on millionaire’s private jet

Brazil president-elect’s decision to fly on a jet owned by a health industry mogul criticised by both opponents and supporters

Brazil’s president-elect has faced a backlash at home after flying to the Cop27 environmental summit on a private jet owned by a millionaire businessman.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected on 30 October and has vowed to undo much of the environmental damage wrought by the outgoing far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Continue reading...

Former Brazilian congresswoman guilty of ordering husband’s murder

Celebrity gospel singer Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, famous for her 55 children, given 50-year jail sentence

A former Brazilian congresswoman has been found guilty of ordering the murder of her preacher husband and sentenced to 50 years and 28 days in prison, bringing an end to one of the most sensational crimes in recent Brazilian history.

The celebrity gospel singer Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, known as Flordelis, was also found guilty on Sunday of associated crimes, including unsuccessfully attempting to poison Anderson do Carmo with cyanide at least six times before giving up and arranging his killing.

Continue reading...

Brazil military finds no evidence of election fraud, dashing hopes of Bolsonaro supporters

Jair Bolsonaro frequently raised doubts about integrity of election in the run-up to his loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

A much-awaited report by Brazil’s Defence Ministry has failed to indicate recent ballots were fraudulent, scuppering the far-right’s hopes of delegitimising the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The military sent the 63-page report to Brazil’s electoral authorities late on Wednesday after days of speculation that it would back claims by extremist president Jair Bolsonaro that the election was tainted.

Continue reading...

Gal Costa, influential Brazilian singer, dies aged 77

The singer, who was a main part of the Tropicália movement, had recently canceled an appearance at a music festival after surgery

Gal Costa, the influential Brazilian singer who was one of the principal figures in the Tropicália movement of the 1960s, died on Wednesday, her public relations agency confirmed. She was 77.

No cause of death was immediately provided. The singer, who lived in São Paulo, had recently canceled a concert at a local music festival on advice from her doctor, after surgery in September to remove a nodule from her right nasal cavity. She had been expected to return to the stage in São Paulo in December, according to tour dates listed on her website.

Continue reading...

Musk promises to investigate Twitter suspension of far-right Brazilian figures

High-profile names, including grandson of military dictator, complained they were being denied free speech

Elon Musk has promised to investigate why several far-right personalities in Brazil were removed from Twitter after some high-profile names, including the grandson of a former military dictator, complained they were being denied free speech.

Twitter Brasil suspended profiles of three rightwing politicians recently elected to congress: Carla Zambelli, Gustavo Gayer, and Nikolas Ferreira, a 26-year-old who won 1.5m votes and has 2 million followers.

They and other supporters of the extremist president Jair Bolsonaro were removed from the platform in the past week in response to an undisclosed legal demand.

All criticised the decision, as did Paulo Figueiredo Filho, the grandson of João Figueiredo, Brazil’s military president between 1979 and 1985, and now a commentator for the rightwing media operation Jovem Pan.

“Hey @elonmusk, your company has been imposing a draconian ideological censorship of the Brazilian people’s right to free speech,” Figueiredo tweeted. “We are at a critical moment in our history! Wtf is going on?? We thought you bought Twitter exactly for this reason! Rise and lift the censorship NOW!”

“I will look into this,” Musk replied.

Figueiredo, whose account with 946,000 followers is still active, did not respond to a tweet asking for comment but he did reveal that his Telegram account had been suspended.

His grandfather was the last military president before Brazil returned to democracy after a 21-year dictatorship that saw hundreds of people killed and thousands more tortured and jailed.

Continue reading...

Brazil, Indonesia and DRC in talks to form ‘Opec of rainforests’

Spurred by Lula’s election, the three countries, home to half of all tropical forests, will pledge stronger conservation efforts

The big three tropical rainforest nations – Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – are in talks to form a strategic alliance to coordinate on their conservation, nicknamed an “Opec for rainforests”, the Guardian understands.

The election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, has been followed by a flurry of activity to avoid the destruction of the Amazon, which scientists have warned is dangerously close to tipping point after years of deforestation under its far-right leader, Jair Bolsonaro.

Continue reading...

‘We are for democracy’: Brazil football fans clear pro-Bolsonaro blockades

Protesters baselessly alleging electoral fraud and refusing to accept defeat to Lula have been blocking roads since election

Brazilian football ultras keen to reach away games have been hailed as democratic heroes after breaking through road blockades set up by far-right supporters of president Jair Bolsonaro, who refuse to accept his defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s tightly contested presidential election.

Pro-Bolsonaro demonstrators baselessly alleging electoral fraud have been blocking roads and highways across the country since Sunday night, causing chaos, cancelled flights and fears of fuel shortages. On Tuesday morning, Brazil’s supreme court ruled that the federal highway police must immediately take measures to clear the roads. Videos showed that some police officers were encouraging the protests.

Continue reading...

Bolsonaro breaks election silence but refuses to recognise Lula’s victory

Former president’s chief of staff indicates his administration is ready to begin transition process

Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has broken his almost two-day silence over his defeat in Sunday’s presidential election – but refused to congratulate or recognize the victory of his rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

After Bolsonaro had delivered his message, however, his chief of staff indicated that his administration would not contest the election result.

Continue reading...

Brazil election: how Lula won the runoff, from São Paulo to the north-east

Bolsonaro gained support in deforested areas while municipalities with high Indigenous population voted overwhelmingly for Lula

A Guardian analysis shows how votes in big cities such as São Paulo and Fortaleza were key to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s tight victory in the second round of Brazil’s presidential election.

The leftist president-elect, better known as Lula, came out on top with 50.9% of the vote, winning in 13 states in the north and north-east of the country. The rightwing incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, with 49.1% of the vote, won the remaining 14 in the centre and south, making for a much better election than anticipated by the polls.

Continue reading...

Brazil judge orders police to clear roadblocks by pro-Bolsonaro truckers

Far-right president remains silent as supporters protest against his election defeat by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Brazilian police have begun breaking up hundreds of demonstrations by far-right supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, freeing up highways and roads that were blocked across the country in protest at the president’s defeat in a landmark general election.

Bolsonaro lost a tightly fought ballot to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but has yet to concede defeat or make any statements about the loss or transition.

Continue reading...

Bolsonaro remains silent after election defeat to Lula as key allies accept result

Brazil’s far-right president has yet to concede after receiving 58.2m votes to Lula’s 60.3m

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has fallen silent after his chastening election defeat to his leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

A stream of world leaders have stepped forward to recognize Lula’s stunning political comeback, including the US president, Joe Biden, the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, and China’s Communist party chief, Xi Jinping.

Continue reading...

World leaders rush to congratulate Lula on Brazil election victory

Biden, Macron, Trudeau and Maduro were among those quick to share their congratulations

Leaders from the around the world have been quick to offer congratulations to Brazil’s president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, after his narrow victory over the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro had cast doubt on the voting process leading up to the bitterly divisive election, and hinted he might reject the outcome if he lost. He has yet to concede.

Continue reading...

Monday briefing: What does Lula’s victory mean for the future of Brazil?

In today’s newsletter: Celebrations erupted in Brazil last night after Lula’s triumph over far-right incumbent Bolsonaro. What could the next four years look like – and will Bolsonaro concede defeat peacefully?

Good morning.

After an election period marred by disinformation and threats of violence, Brazil’s leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – known as Lula – narrowly defeated far right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by two percentage points in an astonishing political comeback. In a parallel universe, Lula’s once unthinkable, political revival – from the top of Brazilian politics, to prison and back to the presidency – would be the story of the hour. Instead all eyes are elsewhere.

Police | Met police chief, Sir Mark Rowley, has said that the gang violence matrix, a controversial Metropolitan police list of alleged gang members that mainly targeted black men, needs to be “radically reformed”. Amnesty International branded the list part of a “racialised war” on gangs. Rowley has already removed more than 1,000 young men from the list.

South Korea | President Yoon Suk-yeo has declared a state of national mourning and ordered an investigation after a fatal crowd crush during Halloween celebrations. More than 150 people were killed after people surged through a narrow alleyway in a busy area of Seoul.

Cop27 | Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend UN climate talks in Egypt this week has prompted an outpouring of anger from countries around the world. “It seems as if they are washing their hands of leadership,” said Carlos Fuller, Belize’s ambassador to the UN.

NHS | The NHS has not received any of the funding from Thérèse Coffey’s £500m emergency fund. The money was supposed to help get thousands of medically fit patients out of hospital into their own home or a care home to prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed in the winter.

National security | UK government ministers risk creating “wild west” conditions in matters of national security through the increased use of personal email and phones to conduct confidential business, intelligence experts and former officials have warned.

Continue reading...