It was a huge relief. The former president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, who is also a physicist, describes his feelings early Sunday evening when it became clear that Brazilian voters had ousted far-right President Jair Bolsonro.
Many in Brazil's scientific community feared a second term for Bolsonaro would be bad for science and climate policy. The result of the second round was the closest since Brazil returned to democracy in 1989. The chance to rebuild the country's science and education has been given.
BolsonFaro had raised doubts about the election's fairness for months, and his supporters have blocked roads all over the country to protest what they say was a rigged result. The president's chief of staff later said the transition of power would begin, which alleviated fears that the president would challenge the result.
During Lula's first stint at the helm, deforestation in Brazil plummeted. In his victory speech, Lula said he would prioritize environmental protection, promised to crack down on illegal logging, and signaled an openness to international cooperation to protect the rainforest. The world needs the Amazon to be alive. We are ready to get back into the fight against the climate crisis.
Hours after the results were in, Espen Barth Eide said his country would resume contributions to the Amazon Fund. After the Bolsonaro administration changed the fund's targets, Norway stopped contributing. Almost half a billion dollars in frozen contributions will be freed. The other countries welcomed the promises.
Details on how he will balance his environmental policies with bolstering the economy and meeting energy demands have been sparse. A zero-tolerance policy for environmental crimes should be adopted by the government, according to Mercedes Bustamante, an ecologist at the Federal University of Braslia. She says that the institutions that monitor and fight deforestation need to be rebuilt.
A lack of research grants, obsolete lab equipment at public universities, and a persistent brain drain are some of the damage done to science over the past four years, according to the president of the Brazilian Society for the advancement of science. Science will have to compete with other needs. Despite being a major food producer, Brazil was added to the United Nations' Hunger Map of countries where 2.5% of the population faces undernourishment eight years after being removed from the list. There are many needs to be tackled at the same time.
With the economy faltering, an already approved budget that includes cuts in research and education, and the Liberal Party holding the largest number of seats in Congress, there will be limited choices for the president. It is difficult to say what he will be able to achieve, but he is a very skilled politician who was able to make alliances with political enemies before.
Brazil's academic community is prepared to help. She says that change won't be easy or quick. All of us have to work together to rebuild the country.
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