Standing in front of the modernist architecture of Brasília’s presidential palace, a triumphant Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva contemplated the complex balancing act that lay before him.
“The world expects Brazil to once again be a leader in tackling the climate crisis,” he told crowds gathered for his inauguration in January last year. “And an example of a socially and environmentally responsible country, capable of promoting economic growth.”
The election that returned Lula to power was billed as pivotal for the fate of our planet. His defeated rival, former president Jair Bolsonaro, had been accused of turning a blind eye to the surging destruction of the Amazon — the world’s largest rainforest and a bulwark against global warming owing to its capacity to absorb and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide.