Elections 2022: Amazon is a mandatory agenda among candidates for the presidency; ‘everyone will say something’

Eliziane Paiva – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “The Amazon is strategic to the future Brazil”, the statement of the pre-candidate to the Presidency of the Republic Simone Tebet (MDB), this last Sunday, 5, World Environment Day, brought up a discussion about the Amazon be used as a agenda in debates between candidates in elections this year.

The Amazon as a global discussion is not new among the agendas of political campaigns as, for example, in the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the 2020 US elections, in which Biden refuted significant and economic measures in favor of not deforesting the Amazon Rainforest, which sparked other conversations and debates on the subject.

Already in Brazil, in this year’s elections, the candidates to the presidential disputes can bet heavily on the agenda in their political campaigns, this is what professor and political scientist Helso Ribeiro said. “It is natural that, in an election, the Amazon comes to the fore (…) And, above all, a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, here, in Brazil, he will also have worldwide visibility”, emphasized the professor.

And yet, according to the specialist, voters can expect many “savior” speeches for environmental issues and, especially, related to the Amazon forest, such as deforestation. “I understand that everyone, without exception, will say something about the Amazon,” opines the political analyst.

What have they done for the Amazon?

In February of this year, the physical issue of CENARIUM MAGAZINE addressed the actions of current president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) regarding the Amazon. “Bolsonaro and Lula had the time and power to protect the forest and provide quality of life for the region’s population. But, what have they done?”, is the main questioning of the publication.

President between the years 2003 and 2011, Lula stood out in the segment during his two governments as President of Brazil. Lula’s governments were also marked by the strengthening of inspection agencies against environmental crimes.

The Real Time Deforestation Detection System (Deter) and the remote monitoring system developed by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), which work with satellite monitoring and inspection, were essential for research and data registration in the Amazon Region and were created in May 2004, during the first Lula administration.

The publication also highlights that, under the current administration, the scenario of forest devastation has been increasingly frequent. The reason is the lack of effective measures against environmental crimes and the favoring of a portion of the population that prioritizes enrichment at the expense of nature.

Third way in the presidential contests

Helso also highlighted that the new candidates who are running for the federal government in 2022 and, by the perspective of the third way, where the dualism that occurs between the candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the current president Jair Bolsonaro is avoided. These candidates should include in their proposals articles about the Amazon region as a way to stand out in their debates. “So, everyone who is going to address their campaign agenda, of course they are going to address the Amazon issue”, he pointed out.

As an example, the pre-candidate Simone Tebet (MDB) published in her social network that she is committed to rebuilding the country. “Talking about the Amazon is talking about the biome, the forest, but it is also about protecting native peoples, poverty, violence, and all the bad social indicators due to deforestation and illegality,” wrote the pre-candidate in a post on Instagram.

The TV host Luciano Huck, who has kept silent about his desire to participate in the presidential race, published an article in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo this Sunday, October 5, with 22 proposals for 2022, among which are to prevent and punish deforestation; to make Brazil’s diplomacy a reference in the climate and environmental agenda; and to halt any and all initiatives to regularize land grabbing.

Besides these pre-candidates, the following are in the presidential race: Ciro Gomes (PDT), André Janones (Avante), Luciano Bivar (União Brasil), Felipe d’Avila (Novo), José Maria Eymael (DC), Vera Lúcia (PSTU), Leonardo Péricles (UP), Pablo Marçal (Pros), and Sofia Manzano (PCB).