What would bring a far-right presidency in Brazil to Canada | CBC News

Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro arrives for a news conference in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 11. He won a run-off vote on Sunday to become Brazil's next president. (Leo Correa/Associated Press)

Bolsonaro, who won the presidential elections on Sunday in Brazil, has vowed to scrap environmental laws, open up the Amazon to ranchers and miners and confiscate the lands of Brazil’s indigenous people.

Miners could benefit from regulations because environmentalists fear that growth plans will destroy the Amazon.

Jair Bolsonaro, established as a congressman of seven right-wing commanders, won Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday, giving him a convincing mandate to radically alter politics in the most populous country in Latin America.

Critics at home and abroad have criticized him for his homophobic, racist and misogynistic statements and his support for the Brazilian military dictatorship that he governed from 1964 to 1985.

Bolsonaro and its effect

For his part, Bolsonaro has hinted at plans to expel Brazil’s international non-governmental organizations, specifically mentioning the World Wildlife Fund, a group with operations in Canada.

It should be noted that initially proposed to withdraw Brazil from the Paris agreement to combat climate change, which would be established as a blow to the agreement, due to the importance of Brazil’s forests to regulate global temperatures. However, he changed his tone later in the campaign.

Critics say that investors, particularly in the resource sector, will benefit from the destruction of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, at the expense of local indigenous peoples and the health of the planet.

Canadian companies invested about $ 11.5 billion in Brazil last year, which represents approximately one percent of total foreign investment abroad, according to Global Affairs Canada.

As large countries that export primary products, Brazil and Canada have often faced trade. In some aspects, they are natural competitors, particularly in agricultural products and in the manufacture of medium-sized jets.

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Source: Chris Arsenault | CBC News