On the northern edge of Brazil, in Roraima, the nation's most northern state, a question is being asked ahead of Sunday's presidential runoff: what becomes of the Amazon if the country turns back toward the politics that once opened its forests to the miner and the chainsaw. Here, where voters leaned heavily toward Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round, many hope a return to power will bring mining back, recalling a previous era in which some eleven million acres of rainforest were felled. Against them stand Indigenous activists who have resolved to resist regardless of who wins, a reminder that
Brazil's Runoff and the Amazon: What Roraima Voters and Indigenous Activists Stand to Lose or Gain
Hopeful that mining will return; resolved to fight if it does.
Mark
Why Roraima? Why send a correspondent there for a national runoff?
Mimi
Because it voted heavily for Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round, and it's a place where the Amazon question is concrete. People there are hoping mining comes back.
Mark
And that's tied to his father's record?
Mimi
Yes. Jair Bolsonaro encouraged mining, and his administration oversaw the felling of 11m acres of rainforest, about 4.5m hectares.
Luke
Careful with that number, though. It's attributed to the administration's tenure as described by the Guardian. We don't get a breakdown of how much was mining versus other causes.
Mimi
Fair. The source links the hope for mining to the father's era, but it doesn't say mining alone drove the felling.
Mark
What about the Indigenous activists?
Mimi
They say they'll fight back even if the Bolsonaros win. That's a statement of intent, not a prediction.
Luke
And we don't know how many activists, which communities, or what form the resistance would take. The description doesn't say.
Mark
Does the heavy first-round vote tell us how Roraima will vote Sunday?
Luke
It suggests a lean, but it's not a forecast. And one state doesn't speak for the whole Amazon region.
Mimi
Which is why the climate question matters beyond Roraima. Helen Pidd asks what the result means globally.
The Pulse
- Roraima, Brazil's northernmost state, has swung heavily behind Flávio Bolsonaro, and the tension of Sunday's runoff sits right on its border.
- Local voters, preachers and politicians are pinning their hopes on a revival of mining, an industry Jair Bolsonaro once pushed hard while millions of acres of rainforest fell.
- Indigenous activists are digging in, vowing to fight the policies of any Bolsonaro government rather than wait to see what it does.
- The outcome is being weighed not just for Brazil but for global climate efforts, with the rainforest's future hanging in the balance after Sunday.
On the northern edge of Brazil, in Roraima, the nation's most northern state, a question is being asked ahead of Sunday's presidential runoff: what becomes of the Amazon if the country turns back toward the politics that once opened its forests to the miner and the chainsaw. Here, where voters leaned heavily toward Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round, many hope a return to power will bring mining back, recalling a previous era in which some eleven million acres of rainforest were felled. Against them stand Indigenous activists who have resolved to resist regardless of who wins, a reminder that the fate of the forest is shaped not only by ballots but by the people who refuse to let it be quietly surrendered.
Roraima sits at the very top of Brazil, and it is there that the Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, went to understand what Sunday's presidential runoff could mean for the Amazon. The trip became a Guardian podcast episode, with Helen Pidd asking what the result will mean for Brazil and for the wider climate crisis.
The state is a telling place to ask. In the first round, Roraima voted heavily for Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right candidate now in the runoff. Phillips spoke with voters, preachers and politicians, who sound hopeful about what a Bolsonaro victory would bring. What they want most is the return of mining, an industry Flávio's father, Jair Bolsonaro, encouraged during his time in power, when 11 million acres of rainforest were felled.
The episode also gives voice to the other side. Indigenous activists say they will keep resisting even if the Bolsonaros return, a position that does not depend on the outcome. The Guardian frames the stakes bluntly: for the Amazon and the communities who live there, they could scarcely be higher. The discussion then turns to the climate implications, since the rainforest's fate bears on global efforts, not only on domestic politics.
What to watch after Sunday is whether mining returns to the agenda under a Flávio Bolsonaro presidency, and how Indigenous communities in Roraima respond if it does.
Roraima sits at the very top of Brazil, the country's most northern state, and it is where the Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, went to understand what Sunday's presidential runoff could mean for the Amazon. The trip is the subject of a Guardian podcast episode, with Helen Pidd asking what the result will mean for Brazil and for the wider climate crisis.
The state is a telling place to ask the question. In the first round of the election, Roraima voted heavily for Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right candidate now in the runoff. Phillips spoke to a range of people there: voters, preachers and politicians. The source describes them as hopeful about what a Bolsonaro victory would deliver.
What they hope for, specifically, is a return of mining. That is an industry Flávio's father, Jair Bolsonaro, encouraged enthusiastically during his time in power. The comparison matters because of what that earlier administration left behind: under it, 11m acres of rainforest, about 4.5m hectares, were felled. For people in Roraima who want mining to come back, that period is something to return to. For those who worry about the forest, it is the benchmark of what could be repeated.
The episode also gives voice to the other side of the argument. Phillips meets Indigenous activists who are determined to resist, and who say they will keep fighting even if the Bolsonaros take power again. Their position is not contingent on the outcome. They are preparing to contest the policies of a possible Bolsonaro government rather than waiting to see what it does.
The framing from the Guardian is blunt about the stakes: for the Amazon and the communities who live there, they could scarcely be higher. The podcast does not stop at Brazil's borders. Pidd's part of the discussion turns to the climate implications, since the fate of the rainforest bears on global efforts to manage the crisis, not only on domestic politics.
The source material here is a short description of an audio episode rather than a full written report, so it does not offer individual names from Roraima, vote percentages or direct quotes from those interviewed. What it does establish is the shape of the divide: a northern state that leaned strongly toward Bolsonaro and wants mining, and Indigenous communities that expect to push back whichever way the vote goes.
The runoff is on Sunday. What to watch afterward is whether mining expansion returns to the agenda under a Flávio Bolsonaro presidency, and how Indigenous activists in Roraima respond if it does.
Notable Quotes
Indigenous activists say they are determined to fight back even if the Bolsonaros take power again.— Guardian podcast description of Tom Phillips's reporting
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Politics & Governance