Ticuna Indigenous leader Geraci Aicuna dos Santos waits to vote in Brazil's presidential election
Deep in the Amazon, near the region where British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were murdered in June, native Ticuna people are glued to a TV, watching the results of Brazil's down-to-the-wire presidential election.
Wearing traditional face paint and feather headdresses, they suddenly explode into cheers and set off fireworks: veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been declared the winner.
The former president (2003-2010) defeated far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by a razor-thin margin in Sunday's divisive runoff vote, 51 percent to 49 percent.
But in the Umariacu 2 Indigenous reservation, a community of mainly wood and tin-roof houses near Brazil's border with Peru and Colombia, Lula won in a landslide.
The left-wing icon took 67 percent of the vote in the county of Tabatinga, where the community votes.
Bolsonaro is reviled in many native communities for presiding over a surge of destruction in the Amazon, pushing to open Indigenous reservations to mining, and vowing not to allow "one more centimeter" of native lands to receive protected status.
"I was very nervous waiting for the result, but when Lula won, I felt so happy," Indigenous council member Nagela Araujo Elizardo told AFP.
"Lula will do a lot of good for this region. He's completely different from Bolsonaro."
The first thing Lula should change, Elizardo said, is the government Indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI, which native peoples accuse Bolsonaro of gutting and turning into an organization hostile to their interests.
Tabatinga has 57 indigenous villages, including Umariacu 1 and 2, home to around 12,000 Ticunas.
The far-flung region has been hit by violent crime and growing lawlessness, including drug trafficking, poaching and illegal logging.
It is near the sprawling Javari Valley Indigenous reservation, home to the largest concentration of uncontacted tribes on Earth.
Phillips, a correspondent for The Guardian, The New York Times and other leading media, and Pereira, a respected Indigenous expert, were just outside the Javari reservation when they were murdered on June 5.
Police say they were killed by members of an illegal fishing ring angry over Pereira's work organizing Indigenous patrols to combat poaching on native land.
The case triggered international outcry and drew fresh attention to rampant crime and environmental destruction in the Amazon under Bolsonaro, who has presided over a 75 percent increase in the average annual deforestation rate.
Those in Tabatinga know the violence all too well: FUNAI's anti-poaching chief in the region was murdered there in 2019, in a gangland-style execution.
"We suffered for four years, it seemed like there was no way out. Now my community is celebrating," said Sebastiao Ramos, 57, head of the Indigenous council for the Ticuna villages of the Amazon river, who was wearing a yellow and blue feather headdress.
Ticuna residents said they hoped for a change for the better, as they celebrated, played music and waved "L" hand signs for Lula.
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"I've followed Lula for a long time," said 53-year-old teacher Luz Marina Honorato, praising the ex-metalworker's focus on not just Indigenous but women's issues, as well.
In his victory speech, Lula vowed to work to achieve zero deforestation, saying, "We need a living Amazon."
He has also pledged to create a ministry of Indigenous affairs, and name an Indigenous person to lead it.
Deep in the Amazon, near the region where British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were murdered in June, native Ticuna people are glued to a TV, watching the results of Brazil's down-to-the-wire presidential election.
Wearing traditional face paint and feather headdresses, they suddenly explode into cheers and set off fireworks: veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been declared the winner.
The former president (2003-2010) defeated far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by a razor-thin margin in Sunday's divisive runoff vote, 51 percent to 49 percent.
But in the Umariacu 2 Indigenous reservation, a community of mainly wood and tin-roof houses near Brazil's border with Peru and Colombia, Lula won in a landslide.
The left-wing icon took 67 percent of the vote in the county of Tabatinga, where the community votes.
Bolsonaro is reviled in many native communities for presiding over a surge of destruction in the Amazon, pushing to open Indigenous reservations to mining, and vowing not to allow "one more centimeter" of native lands to receive protected status.
"I was very nervous waiting for the result, but when Lula won, I felt so happy," Indigenous council member Nagela Araujo Elizardo told AFP.
"Lula will do a lot of good for this region. He's completely different from Bolsonaro."
The first thing Lula should change, Elizardo said, is the government Indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI, which native peoples accuse Bolsonaro of gutting and turning into an organization hostile to their interests.
Tabatinga has 57 indigenous villages, including Umariacu 1 and 2, home to around 12,000 Ticunas.
The far-flung region has been hit by violent crime and growing lawlessness, including drug trafficking, poaching and illegal logging.
It is near the sprawling Javari Valley Indigenous reservation, home to the largest concentration of uncontacted tribes on Earth.
Phillips, a correspondent for The Guardian, The New York Times and other leading media, and Pereira, a respected Indigenous expert, were just outside the Javari reservation when they were murdered on June 5.
Police say they were killed by members of an illegal fishing ring angry over Pereira's work organizing Indigenous patrols to combat poaching on native land.
The case triggered international outcry and drew fresh attention to rampant crime and environmental destruction in the Amazon under Bolsonaro, who has presided over a 75 percent increase in the average annual deforestation rate.
Those in Tabatinga know the violence all too well: FUNAI's anti-poaching chief in the region was murdered there in 2019, in a gangland-style execution.
"We suffered for four years, it seemed like there was no way out. Now my community is celebrating," said Sebastiao Ramos, 57, head of the Indigenous council for the Ticuna villages of the Amazon river, who was wearing a yellow and blue feather headdress.
Ticuna residents said they hoped for a change for the better, as they celebrated, played music and waved "L" hand signs for Lula.
IBT Fast Start - Let the best of International News come to you
Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter.
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
"I've followed Lula for a long time," said 53-year-old teacher Luz Marina Honorato, praising the ex-metalworker's focus on not just Indigenous but women's issues, as well.
In his victory speech, Lula vowed to work to achieve zero deforestation, saying, "We need a living Amazon."
He has also pledged to create a ministry of Indigenous affairs, and name an Indigenous person to lead it.
Canoes line the banks by the Indigenous village of Umariacu, in the Brazilian Amazon
Indigenous Ticuna voters line up to cast their ballots
A Ticuna woman casts her ballot
© Copyright AFP 2022. All rights reserved.
© Copyright AFP 2022. All rights reserved.
Lula wins Brazil election, vows to combat destruction of Amazon rainforest
Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for "peace and unity" after narrowly winning a divisive runoff election Sunday, capping a remarkable political comeback by defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Although Lula's own environmental record is hardly spotless, activists say there is no comparison between him and Bolsonaro, under whom deforestation in the Amazon has soared, as Boris Patentreger from the NGO Mighty Earth explains.
Lula wins Brazil election in political resurrection for leftist
Brazilian leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated President Jair Bolsonaro in a runoff election, but the far right incumbent had not conceded defeat by Monday morning. Tens of thousands of jubilant supporters took to the streets of Sao Paulo to celebrate a stunning comeback for the 77-year-old former metalworker who, following his previous two-term 2003-2010 presidency, served prison time for corruption convictions that were later annulled.
Lula wins Brazil election: Bolsonaro defeated in stunning political comeback story
Brazilian leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated President Jair Bolsonaro in a runoff election, but the far right incumbent had not conceded defeat by Monday morning, raising concerns he might contest the result. Octavio Luiz Motta Ferraz, professor of Law at King's College London, joins us on set to talk about the "mixed feeling" in Brazil "given the difference of opinion" that prevailed in the election.
Rosangela da Silva hopes to be a different kind of Brazilian first lady
AFP - 10h ago
Jumping for joy in a bright red dress, then tenderly holding her husband's victory speech as he addressed a sea of euphoric supporters, Brazil's first lady-elect, Rosangela da Silva, looked very much in love.
Brazilian press reports say the two have known each other for decades, but Lula's press people say their romance began only in late 2017 at an event with left-leaning artists
AFP - 10h ago
Jumping for joy in a bright red dress, then tenderly holding her husband's victory speech as he addressed a sea of euphoric supporters, Brazil's first lady-elect, Rosangela da Silva, looked very much in love.
Brazilian press reports say the two have known each other for decades, but Lula's press people say their romance began only in late 2017 at an event with left-leaning artists
© Mauro PIMENTEL
Her husband, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had just won Sunday's presidential election in Brazil, capping a remarkable political comeback for the leftist icon -- and his new wife was elated at his side.
Former Brazilian president and current candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appears with his wife Rosangela da Silva during a rally at a Rio de Janeiro samba school on September 25, 2022© MAURO PIMENTEL
Da Silva, a 56-year-old sociologist and left-wing activist, married Lula, a twice-widowed cancer survivor who is 21 years her senior, in May.
Despite being stuck in the slog of the ex-president's brutal, divisive election campaign against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, the newlyweds have appeared to be on an extended honeymoon ever since -- capped by Lula's election victory.
Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife, Rosangela da Silva, share a kiss after his election win© NELSON ALMEIDA
Lula credits Da Silva, widely known by her nickname, "Janja," with giving him new life after the 2017 death of his wife of 30 years, Marisa Leticia, with whom he has four children.
"I am as in love as if I were 20 years old," the former -- and now future -- president says of his wife, a long-time member of the Workers' Party.
Their age difference seems to have breathed new energy into Lula, whose first wife, Maria de Lourdes, died in 1971.
"When you lose your wife, and you think, well, my life has no more meaning. Then suddenly, this person appears who makes you feel like you want to live again," he told Time magazine in an interview published just before he remarried.
The septuagenarian politician often links his political rebirth to his late-life love affair.
"I'm here, standing strong, in love again, crazy about my wife," he told the crowd Sunday. "She's the one who will give me strength to confront all obstacles."
Lula and 'Janja' (in yellow) at a campaign event in October© CARL DE SOUZA
Earlier, Da Silva had celebrated the news of his victory by posting a picture of them on Twitter.
"I love you," she wrote.
- A kiss outside prison -
Da Silva was born in the south of Brazil and earned a sociology degree from the university in Curitiba, capital of Parana state.
In 1983 she joined the Workers' Party, which Lula had co-founded two years earlier.
Brazilian media reports say the two have known each other for decades, but Lula's press people say their romance began only in late 2017 at an event with left-leaning artists.
But the love affair between this smiling woman with long chestnut hair and the aging lion of the Brazilian left became widely known only in May 2019.
At the time, Lula was in prison -- jailed on controversial corruption charges that were later annulled by the Supreme Court.
"Lula is in love, and the first thing he wants to do when he gets out of prison is get married," said one of his lawyers after a visit with him.
In the end, the two wed only this year. It was a discreet ceremony -- by Lula's standards. The 200 guests included celebrities like singer Gilberto Gil, who had served as culture minister under Lula.
While Lula was in prison, Janja would pen affectionate tweets about him. "All I want to do is hug you and cuddle with you non-stop," she wrote on his 74th birthday.
In November 2019, shortly after Lula's release from prison, they shared a kiss before a crowd gathered outside the prison in Curitiba, where Lula had spent 18 months locked up.
- 'New meaning' -
While she has been active in Lula's campaign, on stage and on social media, Da Silva is very private with her personal life. The magazine Veja says she was previously married for more than 10 years and has no children.
Now, as of January 1, she will be Brazil's first lady.
"I want to give new meaning to the role of first lady, by focusing on topics that are priorities for women, such as food insecurity or domestic violence," she said in August.
She was one of the stars of his campaign, playing a leading role from the day it launched on May 7 -- right up to his victory speech on Sunday night.
mel-lg/jhb/st
Her husband, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had just won Sunday's presidential election in Brazil, capping a remarkable political comeback for the leftist icon -- and his new wife was elated at his side.
Former Brazilian president and current candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appears with his wife Rosangela da Silva during a rally at a Rio de Janeiro samba school on September 25, 2022© MAURO PIMENTEL
Da Silva, a 56-year-old sociologist and left-wing activist, married Lula, a twice-widowed cancer survivor who is 21 years her senior, in May.
Despite being stuck in the slog of the ex-president's brutal, divisive election campaign against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, the newlyweds have appeared to be on an extended honeymoon ever since -- capped by Lula's election victory.
Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife, Rosangela da Silva, share a kiss after his election win© NELSON ALMEIDA
Lula credits Da Silva, widely known by her nickname, "Janja," with giving him new life after the 2017 death of his wife of 30 years, Marisa Leticia, with whom he has four children.
"I am as in love as if I were 20 years old," the former -- and now future -- president says of his wife, a long-time member of the Workers' Party.
Their age difference seems to have breathed new energy into Lula, whose first wife, Maria de Lourdes, died in 1971.
"When you lose your wife, and you think, well, my life has no more meaning. Then suddenly, this person appears who makes you feel like you want to live again," he told Time magazine in an interview published just before he remarried.
The septuagenarian politician often links his political rebirth to his late-life love affair.
"I'm here, standing strong, in love again, crazy about my wife," he told the crowd Sunday. "She's the one who will give me strength to confront all obstacles."
Lula and 'Janja' (in yellow) at a campaign event in October© CARL DE SOUZA
Earlier, Da Silva had celebrated the news of his victory by posting a picture of them on Twitter.
"I love you," she wrote.
- A kiss outside prison -
Da Silva was born in the south of Brazil and earned a sociology degree from the university in Curitiba, capital of Parana state.
In 1983 she joined the Workers' Party, which Lula had co-founded two years earlier.
Brazilian media reports say the two have known each other for decades, but Lula's press people say their romance began only in late 2017 at an event with left-leaning artists.
But the love affair between this smiling woman with long chestnut hair and the aging lion of the Brazilian left became widely known only in May 2019.
At the time, Lula was in prison -- jailed on controversial corruption charges that were later annulled by the Supreme Court.
"Lula is in love, and the first thing he wants to do when he gets out of prison is get married," said one of his lawyers after a visit with him.
In the end, the two wed only this year. It was a discreet ceremony -- by Lula's standards. The 200 guests included celebrities like singer Gilberto Gil, who had served as culture minister under Lula.
While Lula was in prison, Janja would pen affectionate tweets about him. "All I want to do is hug you and cuddle with you non-stop," she wrote on his 74th birthday.
In November 2019, shortly after Lula's release from prison, they shared a kiss before a crowd gathered outside the prison in Curitiba, where Lula had spent 18 months locked up.
- 'New meaning' -
While she has been active in Lula's campaign, on stage and on social media, Da Silva is very private with her personal life. The magazine Veja says she was previously married for more than 10 years and has no children.
Now, as of January 1, she will be Brazil's first lady.
"I want to give new meaning to the role of first lady, by focusing on topics that are priorities for women, such as food insecurity or domestic violence," she said in August.
She was one of the stars of his campaign, playing a leading role from the day it launched on May 7 -- right up to his victory speech on Sunday night.
mel-lg/jhb/st
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