Brasilia 23 August : The former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he will explore an entirely new climate and environmental policy if he is elected president of Brazil in the elections for president in October. “We will stop illegal mining of gold and fight against forest destruction,” Lula told a group of international journalists in Sao Paulo on Monday.
There is no need for trees to be cut down in order to plant corn or soy or to raise livestock, the DPA news agency quoted the former leader as saying.
“If everyone is willing to help, then preserving trees in the Amazon could be more valuable than other investments,” he said.
He also stated he will strengthen environmental and surveillance authorities.Both were diminished under the President Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s presidential election will take place in about 6 weeks.It will see left-winger Lula compete against the right-wing incumbent populist Bolsonaro.
Current polls indicate Lula ahead of Bolsonaro.
The protection of the Amazon region is crucial to fighting global climate change, however, Bolsonaro views it in the context of economic benefits.
Lula was in office from 2003 until the year 2010.
In the year 2018, he was sentenced to about 12 years in prison for corruption and money laundering .He was therefore not able to participate in the election of 2018 which Bolsonaro won.
Lula was released out of prison in 2019 and in Brazil’s top court overturned his sentence and allowed Lula to return to the political scene.
