Outcry as congress moves to gut certain ministries

Activists voiced outrage after the conservative-dominated congress moved to drastically dilute the powers of the environment and Indigenous peoples ministries in what could be a potentially crippling blow to efforts to protect Indigenous communities and the Amazon.

Hopes that Brazil could turn the page on Jair Bolsonaro’s era of Amazon devastation were skyhigh after the far-right leader lost last year’s presidential election to the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. During his campaign, Lula vowed to stamp out environmental crime and champion Indigenous people.