Brazil's Lula names ministers for environment and Indigenous peoples

BUENOS AIRES

Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced two new ministers tasked with safeguarding the country's environmental policy and reversing outgoing Jair Bolsonaro's policies.

Marina Silva, an Amazon rainforest defender, is set to become Brazil's environmental minister again - a position she previously held between 2003-2008 until her resignation after a policy dispute with Lula.

Sonia Guajajara will become the country's first-ever minister for Indigenous peoples. Guajajara, an indigenous person herself, said she felt "honored and happy" following her appointment.

She described it on Twitter as "more than a personal achievement, this is a collective achievement of Indigenous peoples, a historic moment of the principle of reparation in Brazil. The creation of the Ministry is the confirmation of the commitment that Lula assumes with us."

Many environmentalists and defenders of Indigenous peoples and their territorial rights have criticized Bolsonaro's policies, insisting he has rolled back environmental protection in the Amazon, causing ecological destruction.

Following her appointment Silva, thanked Lula, writing on Twitter that Brazil faces "the great challenge of rescuing and updating the lost socio-environmental agenda."

During November's COP27 in Egypt, Lula said that there can be "no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon," pledging to safeguard the Amazon's biomass.

He also vowed to strengthen inspection bodies and monitoring systems and to clamp down hard on "environmental crimes" and "illegal activity" in the Amazon - denouncing mining, timber and agricultural activities which he said have significantly impacted indigenous peoples’ way of life in the region.

Lula will return for a third term as president on Jan. 1. However, experts warn he will face tough challenges to reverse Bolsonaro's environmental policies.

BUENOS AIRES

Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced two new ministers tasked with safeguarding the country's environmental policy and reversing outgoing Jair Bolsonaro's policies.

Sonia Guajajara will become the country's first-ever minister for Indigenous peoples. Guajajara, an indigenous person herself, said she felt "honored and happy" following her appointment.

Following her appointment Silva, thanked Lula, writing on Twitter that Brazil faces "the great challenge of rescuing and updating the lost socio-environmental agenda."

During November's COP27 in Egypt, Lula said that there can be "no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon," pledging to safeguard the Amazon's biomass.

Lula will return for a third term as president on Jan. 1. However, experts warn he will face tough challenges to reverse Bolsonaro's environmental policies.