Brazils far-right president Jair Bolsonaro made international headlines for all the wrong reasons. He publicly denied reports released by Brazils Space Agency (INPE), which indicated a steady rise in the Amazons deforestation, and then subsequently sacked the institutes director Professor Ricardo Magnus Osorio Galvao. Bolsonaro replaced Professor Galvao with a former Airforce officer. The Brazilian president argued holding suspicion that Professor Galvao was acting on behalf of some environmental NGO. Then raging wildfires started sweeping through the Amazons rainforest, confirming INPEs satellite evidence and fears of illegal logging, encroaching crop and livestock farming, gold mining and illegal occupations of Amazons indigenous reserves. In a controversial twist, the far-right president suggested that NGOs were behind the Amazon fires to embarrass the Brazilian government internationally, offering no evidence to back up his claims.

Brazil-French diplomatic fiasco

In the eve of the G7 meetings, French president Emmanuel Macron expressed concerns over the Amazon fires tweeting: Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest the lungs which produces 20 percent of our planets oxygen is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, lets discuss this emergency first order in two days!, including the hashtag act for the Amazon. What followed since, not only failed to quench the Amazons fires but could potentially turn the Amazon into ashes.

Bolsonaro refused to take US$20 million from the G7 to help fight the Amazons fires arguing that accepting the offer would make Brazil look like a colony or no mans land. The controversy continued, with the presidents chief of staff Onyx Lorenzoni suggesting that G7 aid was colonialist or imperialist. Lorenzoni goes on stating :We appreciate (the G7 offer), but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe. Notwithstanding, Bolsonaro appeared to endorse a Facebook post implying that the French first lady was not as attractive as the Brazilian first lady, 27 years Bolsonaros junior.

In an endless Brazil-French diplomatic feud, Macron stated in a press conference that, he (Bolsonaro) made some extraordinarily rude comments about my wife and he continued: What can I say? Its sad for him first, and then for Brazilians. As a result, Bolsonaro demanded an apology from Macron to accept any G7 aid for the Amazon fires on two grounds firstly, for calling him a liar when he disputed the INPEs data and the Amazons deforestation evidence; and secondly for calling him rude after he insulted Macrons wife.

The Lula-Bolsonaro Game of Thrones

Amid an Amazon rainforest in flames and Brazils diplomacy in shambles, BBC News interviewed former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from the Workers Party. From a prison where he serves time for corruption, Lula reflects on Bolsonaros leadership and his handling of the Amazon crisis. But how did the former Brazilian president and one of the most popular Latin American political leaders end up in jail?

Lula was arrested last year as a result the Car Wash Operations investigating corruption and bribery. Previously, Lula stated: When I prove my innocence I can die peacefully.

Australian Human Rights Lawyer and QC Geoffrey Robertson declared in a 2017 video titled Lulas Truth: Lula will not receive a fair trial. Robertson continued stating that, his (Lulas) conviction will arrive in time to stop Lula from standing again as president for the Workers Party in 2018.

Bolsonaros presidential campaign benefited directly from Lulas arrest, as Lula continued to lead opinion polls even from jail. Ironically, soon after Bolsonaro ceased the presidency, prominent anti-corruption judge Moro was appointed as a super Minister for Justice, with increased powers and attributions. Moro is the same judge who was responsible for the Car Wash trials and the judge behind the trial and arrest of Lula. In a recent twist, hacked information released in the website Intercept revealed text messages exchanges between Judge Moro and Brazilian public prosecutors increasing concerns over Moros lack of impartiality during the trials. Moreover, the recent decision by Brazils Supreme Court three votes to one reviewed Brazils Bank president Aldemir Bendine Car Wash operations sentence. This can be a political Pandoras box by setting a precedent to review other 32 Car Wash sentences, including Lulas trial and jail term.

Lulas reflections on Bolsonaros leadership and the Amazon crisis

When asked by BBC News about his views on Bolsonaros environmental policies, Lula stated: I believe Bolsonaro is causing tremendous evil to the Brazilian people. Partly due to being evil and partly due to ignorance. Lula argues that when you hear Bolsonaro speaking you notice that he doesnt know what he is talking about. Lula continues by arguing that diplomatic relationships are important and that, you dont do it with offences as Trump does and Bolsonaro does. For Lula, international dialogue plays a pivotal role, as he argued that, Brazil needs England, Brazil needs France, Brazil needs Italy, Brazil needs China, Brazil needs Angola, Brazil needs Cape Verde, and they need us. Nevertheless, in Lulas opinion, Bolsonaro has no idea of geopolitics, as he is influenced by someone who dont believe the world is round. He thinks the planet is flat, referring to controversial right wing ideologue and Bolsonaros political guru Olavo de Carvalho. Olavo is a Brazilian polemicist and self-educated philosopher based in Virginia, United States. He is also an astrologer who questions if the Earths goes around the sun. In Lulas view Bolsonaro cannot be taken seriously by the international community.

Regarding the incumbent administrations rolling back indigenous rights and opening up indigenous lands to farming and mining, Lula argues that this is an old discourse. According to him, the same people who are setting the Amazon on fire have done that in the past. He stated that people within the Bolsonaro administration think that to preserve forest, to tackle global warming is foolish. Lula declared that, There is stupidity at a high level governing our country today. In 2008 Brazil experienced significant economic growth becoming one of the worlds largest economies. In Lulas words, Brazil became an international protagonist and he goes on saying that Brazil was highly respected those days, we were taken into consideration. No one discussed environmental preservation without talking to Brazil. For instance, Brazils INPE developed pioneering technology to track down rainforest deforestation, which was validated for over 30 years. This was the Amazons deforestation tracking technology recently discredited by Bolsonaro.

In Brazils left versus right game of thrones, where a statesman reflects from jail and far-right authoritarianism is back to power, we witness the trashing of Brazilian diplomacy, the neglect of environmental policies, indigenous rights, scientific evidence and the need of the most vulnerable in Brazilian society. After 13 years of the Workers Party being in power, followed an impeachment process and the imprisonment of Lula it is evident that the authoritarian far-right deserves further reflection. Perhaps the Workers Party challenged old power structures too quickly, making Brazilian elites heterodox political manoeuvres a matter of survival. It is like walking in circles and returning to old thuggish military politics once again, all flavoured with scientific skepticism. Sadly, it is a cycle proving so far impossible to break in Brazilian politics. Meanwhile the Amazon continues to burn, as we speak.

Flavia Bellieni Zimmermann holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the Pontifical Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro and a Graduate Diploma of International Relations and National Security from Curtin University, Western Australia. She is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Western Australia Centre for Muslim States and Societies.