I can think of no greater disappointment that I have consistently felt towards Lula than his environmental policy. He's disappointed me yet again:
Fears for the future of the world's biggest tropical rainforest grew yesterday, after the sudden resignation of Brazil's environment minister, Marina Silva.
Environmentalists had seen Silva, 50, who was born in the Brazilian Amazon, as an important ally in the fight against the destruction of the country's rainforest, 20% of which they believe has been destroyed.
In her resignation letter to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president, on Tuesday, Silva said her decision was the result of difficulties she was facing in "pursuing the federal environmental agenda". She said her efforts to protect the environment had faced "growing resistance ... [from] important sectors of the government and society". Two other top environmental officials, including Bazileu Margarido, the president of Brazil's environmental agency, Ibama, also resigned.
A double whammy. Lula has been weakening Ibama for some time now and has been pushing hydroelectric power as part of a calcified energy policy. Marina Silva's resignation is bad news - and my greatest fear is that it could be the start of more bad news on the environment under Lula. Shame on him.
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