Ahead of his swearing in for his second tilt at the presidency of Brazil, Luis Ignacio Da Slva Lula arrived in Egypt for the meeting of COP 27 to a welcome that could hardly have been bettered had he already ascended to office.
It was, in part, loud and raucous, as Brazilian celebratory events usually are, the chants of Lula! Lula! from the army of Brazilians who had made their way to Egypt Brazil to stage their own early celebration of his return to the peak of Brazilian politics.
It was as much the populist image that the one-time trade unionist had secured during his first tilt at the presidency as the promise of his continued focus on reining in the degradation of the Amazon, huge swathes of which are part of Brazil’s territory, that afforded him the tumultuous welcome when he arrived in Egypt. COP 27 could hardly have been more timely for Lula.
There still remains more than a month before Lula returns to high office but the staging of COP 27 at this time could hardly have been a more appropriate opportunity for him to announce his ‘second coming.’ He returns to the presidency of Brazil restored to him on a second ballot in October.
Lula’s premature entry onto the international stage in Egypt on the back of a welcome to COP 27 that far exceeded that which was afforded other Heads of Government was due largely to what is known to have been his pursuit of the preservation of the Amazon Rainforest during his earlier term in office.
The Amazon rainforest remains the largest continuous forest in the world and the most vulnerable to despoliation.
With more than half of the Amazon rainforest located within Brazil’s territorial limits, it contributes billions of dollars to the country’s economy from products that include rubber and timber. The huge downside here, however, is that, by and large, fingers have been pointed at Brazil for showing scant regard for the huge environmental significance of the Amazon, Lula winning the credit for paying much more attention than his predecessors to putting a brake on the ravaging of what is considered by far the most valued piece of environmentally linked real estate anywhere on earth.
Lula’s arrival in Egypt earlier this week coincided with the assembling most of the world’s most powerful leaders hunkered down in talks over what to do about turning back the climate ‘clock’ that is now widely believed to be ticking ‘overtime.’
Unsurprisingly, he seized the golden political opportunity that arose in Egypt to undertake to bring an end to what has become the rampant destruction of the Amazon. His seeming desire to try to cause Brazil to become a leader in the fight against climate change by aggressively targeting the despoiling of the Amazon could well turn out to be the primary item on his political agenda, going forward.
Accorded the signal honor of addressing a forum in Egypt designed in large measure for Heads of Government, Lula transformed his appearance into a ‘top billing’ event, much of what he had to say attended by rousing applause. He undertook what unquestionably, will be the huge task of cracking down on illegal deforestation, a demanding task since the Amazon, in its hugeness, forms part of the territory of nine other countries, the other eight (8) being Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana with, and Ecuador.
During his earlier tenure in office Lula had seemingly set much store by cracking down on the illegal deforestation of the Amazon, an undertaking that would, if it can be accomplished, would position the second Lula political administration as the unquestioned champion among climate changers, globally.
Lula’s already boisterous undertakings in the matter of the intended emphasis which his administration seeks to place on the Amazon will have the effect of departing from what is believed to be policies embraced by his predecessor during his tenure in office that are believed to have done considerable harm to what, given the accelerated focus on pushing back climate change, is seen, contextually, as probably the most valuable piece of real estate anywhere on the planet.
