A better time with Lula in Brazil?

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A better time with Lula in Brazil?

From an increase in religious freedom to protection of the Amazon, there are high hopes for Lula, Brazil’s returning president. Raphael Tsavkko Garcia speaks to activists about their dreams for the future.

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Candomblé members dance and sing at a religious festival in Saubara, Brazil, 12 June 2020. THALES ANTÔNIO/ALAMY

People across Brazil and the world celebrated the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as President in November 2022. It was one of the most violent elections in Brazil’s recent history. The Observatory of Political and Electoral Violence says there were politically motivated attacks against candidates, officials, and government workers since 2020. There were many cases of intimidation, threats, and even killings of ordinary citizens.

After the results, supporters of the defeated president Jair Bolsonaro blocked hundreds of roads across the country and surrounded army bases to demand a military coup. But in the favelas, in the Amazon, in the poorest neighbourhoods of the country, social justice activists are hoping for a new and better time. Rennan Leta is a journalist and social media influencer from the Alto da Boa Vista favela in northern Rio de Janeiro. Leta says ‘I think the important thing is the respect and defence of religious freedom.’

Under Bolsonaro, they persecuted Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé or Umbanda. The president clearly preferred conservative and evangelical Christianity. Of course, attacking Afro-Brazilian religions not new, but religious leaders and their followers noticed a change in the country after Bolsonaro’s election. ‘Brazil has many examples of violence against Afro-Brazilian religions,’ says Leta. ‘But in recent years, Bolsonaro supported the violence. Now we will have a president with an excellent relationship with all religions, he respects them and sees them as equal. I feel good about that. I don’t think that violence in society will end, but it is likely to decrease and, for sure, there will no longer be any encouragement for it.’

Joy and high hopes

The environment and climate change are very important for Brazil and the world and the election result brings joy and high hopes. But there is a feeling of caution, too. Deforestation of the Amazon increased under Bolsanaro. But when Lula was president before (2003-2011), and when his successor, Dilma Rousseff, was president, things were not exactly ‘green’. For example, there was the disastrous construction of the dam in 2019.

‘Most Brazilians are against the deforestation of the Amazon, the violation of Indigenous rights. So I think Lula has to support this,’ says Caetano Scannavino. He manages the NGO Projeto Saúde & Alegria (Project Health and Joy) in the Amazon. He says ‘this is a challenge,’ but hopes Lula can ‘bring agribusiness leaders to the negotiating table to find more sustainable practices.’

NOW TRY THE ORIGINAL:

https://newint.org/features/2022/12/02/new-era-under-lula

(This article is in easier English so it is possible that we changed the words, the text structure, and the quotes.)