Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in Brazil’s presidential election will unlock a flood of money from international investors who shunned the country under President Jair Bolsonaro because of his terrible environmental record.
This thesis was common currency this year among political analysts in Brazil and commentators overseas. Lula himself hinted at it, accusing Bolsonaro of leaving the country “more isolated than Cuba” and adding: “Nobody wants to come here anymore.”
There is just one problem: the facts tell a different story. Amazon deforestation did surge under Bolsonaro to a 13-year high and many European and Latin American countries shunned the hard-right president diplomatically.