Lula faces stiff challenge to fulfil vow to reverse Amazon deforestation in Brazil

President's predecessor Bolsonaro unleashed record destruction and emboldened loggers, land grabbers and illegal miners

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's narrow victory over President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil's October elections was hailed as the potential salvation of the Amazon, after four years of unbridled destruction which have brought the rainforest close to a tipping point, threatening the very survival of the Indigenous populations whose lives depend upon it.

Lula has vowed to reverse the environmental destruction wreaked under his far-right predecessor and work towards zero deforestation by tackling crime in the Amazon and guaranteeing the protection of Indigenous rights. But the president-elect, who takes office on 1 January 2023, faces an uphill battle to meet these big promises he has made to the Brazilian people and the international community.