The resource nationalism view of politics
Brazil, which is oil-rich and holds the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earth minerals, is the only big country in South America not governed by a right-wing leader, with Lula largely seen as China-friendly.
Flávio Bolsonaro had promised to align Brazil more closely with Washington while Lula had warned the US not to interfere in the election and insisted that Brazil would “never fit into anyone’s backyard”.
But while there may be disappointment in the White House, Lula’s victory will be welcomed by environmentalists who had feared that a win by Bolsonaro would have given Brazil’s influential agribusiness and mining sectors more power.
They had pointed to record levels of deforestation and forest fires in the Amazon during the presidency of his father, Jair, arguing that under the younger Bolsonaro laxer environmental policies could again lead to destruction in this key ecosystem.