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Brazil – Analyses

Maria Elena Paredes, coordinator of the Community Vigilance Committee for the Ashéninka community of Sawawo Hito 40, points to satellite images showing deforestation. Reynaldo Vela/USAID

Indigenous defenders stand between illegal roads and survival of the Amazon rainforest – Brazil’s election could be a turning point

Illegal roads have brought deforestation, fire and other environmental damage to the Amazon. The results of the 2022 presidential runoff could have a major impact for the future.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, second from right, ran the investigation that led to former President Donald Trump’s indictment. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Prosecuting a president is divisive and sometimes destabilizing – here’s why many countries do it anyway

Both sweeping immunity and overzealous prosecutions of former leaders can undermine democracy. But such prosecutions pose different risks for older democracies like the US than in younger ones.
A child from the Mayuruna ethnic group stands on a pier on the banks of the Atalaia do Norte River in Amazonas state, Brazil, on June 12, 2022. Federal police and military forces are searching and investigating the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous affairs expert Bruno Araujo Pereira. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

The Amazon rainforest is disappearing quickly — and threatening Indigenous people who live there

The deforestation of the Amazon in Brazil is at its peak, with 2022 breaking all records. Deforestation threatens human rights.
Lula with activists of the Landless Movement, March 21, 2022. Though he is leading the incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro in the polls, Lula’s victory is not assured. (LulaOfficial)

Elections in Brazil: Lula faces many challenges running against Jair Bolsonaro

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, enjoys a comfortable lead over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. But the Workers’ Party candidate faces many challenges.
NASA’s Landsat satellites have been monitoring changes on Earth’s landscape for 50 years. NASA illustration

Satellites over the Amazon capture the choking of the ‘house of God’ by the Belo Monte Dam – they can help find solutions, too

When Indigenous peoples lose their river flow to dams, satellite programs like Landsat – which is celebrating its 50th anniversary – can help them fight for their resources.
A satellite captured large and small deforestation patches in Amazonas State in 2015. The forest loss has escalated since then. USGS/NASA Landsat data/Orbital Horizon/Gallo Images/Getty Images

The great Amazon land grab – how Brazil’s government is clearing the way for deforestation

Land grabs spearheaded by wealthy interests are accelerating deforestation, and Brazil’s National Congress is working to legitimize them.