What to Expect with Lula as President of Brazil

Lula elected President in Brazil

Lula was elected president with a tight result in a divided and polarised Brazil, along with the most centre-right Congress since 1988. The economy is stagnant and expectations are high. His challenge will now be to stabilise democracy, build economic credibility, put Brazil back at the international stage and reconstruct the environmental and social agenda…

Emergency Aid for Floods in Brazil

Floods in Brazil

The European Commission has allocated €1 million in emergency funds to respond to the consequences of floods in Brazil.  During the past two months, heavy rains affected several Brazilian municipalities, particularly in the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais, resulting in disastrous consequences for the population and the loss of houses, schools and vital infrastructures….

212 Defenders of Nature Murdered in 2019

Global Witness has revealed the highest number of land and environmental defenders murdered on record in a single year, with 212 people killed in 2019 for peacefully defending their homes and standing up to the destruction of nature. Its annual report also sheds a light on the urgent role land and environmental defenders play in fighting climate breakdown,…

EU-Mercosur Trade Causing Amazon Deforestation

A new report commissioned by the French government on the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, to be presented to French Prime Minister today shows that solely the expansion of beef production in the Mercosur region as a result of the deal would accelerate deforestation by at least 25% annually and destroy 36,000 km2 of forest per year, which…

Is Brazil a Token Democracy Under Bolsonaro?

By Luiz Eduardo and Pedro Abramovay. Soldiers can be angels of mercy or weapons of tyranny. In Brazil, in 2016, when Zika virus swept through Brazil, the country deployed 220,000 soldiers to hand out educational material to citizens on how to combat the new virus that was ravaging the country, a strategy that proved effective in mitigating the spread of the…

EU To Strike Trade Deal with Mercosur Countries

The European Union and Mercosur have reached a political agreement for an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive trade agreement.  The new trade framework – part of a wider Association Agreement between the two regions – will consolidate a strategic political and economic partnership and create significant opportunities for sustainable growth on both sides, while respecting the environment…