Tom Phillips, The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, has flown to Roraima ahead of Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday to gauge what the outcome could mean for the Amazon rainforest and the people who depend on it.
Roraima, the country’s northernmost state, was a stronghold for Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round of the election, with a majority of voters expressing support for the candidate.
In the run‑off, the stakes are high for the region’s communities, who rely on the forest for their livelihoods and cultural identity.
Phillips will speak with voters, preachers and local politicians to capture a range of perspectives on how the election could affect environmental policy and land rights in the Amazon.
The Amazon rainforest, which covers a significant portion of Brazil, is home to thousands of indigenous and local communities and is a global environmental priority.
The result of the Sunday runoff will therefore have implications not only for Brazil’s political landscape but also for the future of the world’s largest tropical forest.
<small>Source: The Guardian — read the original story there.</small>
