Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Brazil’s President-elect, made his first speech. He promised to unify a divided nation and stop deforestation in the Amazon.
As the veteran leftist celebrated his win over Jair Bolsonaro the far-right incumbent, he extended his arms to international cooperation in order to preserve the Amazon rainforest. He also promised that deforestation would be reduced to zero.
His win, along with the green commitments, was welcomed by conservationists and world leaders alike.
Prime Minister Rishi sunak congratulated Mr da Silva for his appointment and stated on Twitter that he looked forward to working with him on “growing the world economy”.
The US President Joe Biden congratulated him and Brazil on “fair and credible elections”.
He said, “I look forwards to working together to maintain the cooperation between our countries in the months to come.”
France’s President Emmanuel Macron stated that Mr. da Silva’s victory “opens a new chapter in the history Brazil” and promised the two countries would “renew the ties and friendship” and work together to tackle “the many common problems…between our two nations”.
Frank Bainimarama (Fiji’s Prime Minister, environmentalist, and campaigner) said that the Amazon was the “lungs” of the planet and welcomed his promise to reduce deforestation.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also referred to the environment while congratulating Mr da Silva.
He stated that he looked forward to strengthening the partnership between the countries and delivering results for Brazilians and Canadians.
Experts had stated that the fate of Amazon was determined by Brazil’s election results.
Jair Bolsonaro was accused of leading a new era in deforestation that many believed had ended.
He also removed many protections for the rainforest that were intended to protect it, leading to rapid growth in deforestation and wildfires. This led to a doubled of CO2 emissions in 2019 & 2020.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative, also stated that the bloc would cooperate with Mr da Silva (known universally as Lula) in “all areas of mutual interests, including trade and environment, climate change, and other issues.”
