Martes, 1 de noviembre de 2022 (Continuación)

Supporters of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT) celebrate after he was declared winner of the Brazilian presidential election on 30 October 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo: Ricardo Moreira via Getty Images.

MundoAméricaReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

The future of Brazil’s democracy as well as its environmental integrity was at stake in Brazil’s presidential election and, with the success of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, supporters of climate change action in Brazil and around the world can take a temporary sigh of relief.

During Jair Bolsonaro’s four years in power, the rate of deforestation increased by 72 per cent, after key government agencies were defunded and their ability to enforce environmental protection regulations were eroded.

This contrasts with the eight years of Lula’s presidency, where the rate of deforestation systematically decreased by 70 per cent between 2004-12 as command-and-control policies and regulations were implemented, such as the blacklisting of municipalities with the highest illegal deforestation rates so that producers in these areas were not able to access rural credits.…  Seguir leyendo »

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva raises his fist after addressing supporters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday, October 30.

MundoAmérica,

This Sunday more than 120 million Brazilians went to the polls to vote in a run-off presidential election in which former President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva posted a stunning political comeback.

Lula beat incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro with 50.9% of the vote against Bolsonaro’s 49.1% – a difference of roughly two million of the eligible votes cast.

It was a nail-biter of an election with the final result coming only after nearly all of the votes from the country’s 577,000 electronic voting machines had been tabulated.

On one hand, Lula’s victory marked a sharp rebuke of Bolsonaro’s irreverent and often-times controversial governing style, which earned him the derisive moniker as the ‘Trump of the Tropics.’…  Seguir leyendo »

São Paulo, Brazil, 30 October 2022. Photograph: Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images

MundoAmérica,

The Workers’ party (PT) supporters were out in force last night in the centre of São Paulo, pretty much as they were 20 years ago when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva first won the Brazilian presidency. Then, as now, convoys of celebrating Lula-supporting Petista drivers honked their horns, with their chanting, flag-waving passengers precariously hanging out of car windows.

That win – which followed three unsuccessful runs – was sweet. This victory – Lula’s third – is perhaps even more gratifying because the former trade union leader has come back from imprisonment, defied his political enemies and condemned his nemesis, Jair Bolsonaro, to defeat.…  Seguir leyendo »

Likud supporters in Jerusalem on 31 October. Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

MundoOriente Próximo,

On 1 November, Israel votes in a general election for the fifth time since spring 2019. Recent polls show that the country’s former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his rightwing coalition are just shy of clinching victory. Sixty-one seats in the Knesset, the 120-seat parliament, is the magic number. As fate would have it, Israeli Arab voters may determine the outcome.

In 2021, Israeli Arabs were instrumental in ousting Netanyahu from office. This time, however, they may give him a boost by simply sitting on their hands: if they stay at home, the odds of Netanyahu and his allies returning to power markedly improve.…  Seguir leyendo »

Bolsonaro fue derrotado. ¿Será posible volver a la cordura en Brasil?

MundoAmérica,  

Cuatro años de locura están cerca de terminar. En una tensa segunda vuelta, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva se impuso sobre el presidente Jair Bolsonaro con el 50,9 por ciento de los votos. A menos que las cosas tomen un giro radical —el temido golpe de Estado que lleva meses cerniéndose sobre el país—, Da Silva será, el 1 de enero, presidente de Brasil.

No fue fácil. El mes pasado ha sido una síntesis de la era Bolsonaro. La desinformación ha estado desenfrenada. (El comité de campaña de Da Silva tuvo que confirmar, a raíz de los rumores difundidos en las redes sociales, que “no ha hecho un pacto con el diablo, ni ha hablado nunca con Satán”).…  Seguir leyendo »