"What’s at Stake in Brazil’s Election? The Future of the Amazon"

"UNITED NATIONS — The presidential election in Brazil will not only shape the destiny of Latin America’s largest country. It is also a referendum on the fate of the Amazon: the world’s largest tropical forest, sometimes known as the lungs of the Earth.

The stakes for the planet are huge.

The front-runner for the presidency, Jair Bolsonaro — a far-right congressman who has said Brazil’s environmental policy is “suffocating the country” — has promised to champion his country’s powerful agribusiness sector, which seeks to open up more forest to produce the beef and soy that the world demands."

Somini Sengupta reports for the New York Times October 17, 2018.

Source: NY Times, 10/17/2018