“Forum”, the new section of the Brazilian Political Science Review (BPSR), just published three articles that outline a scenario with the main environmental issues in Brazil. 

The article Environmental Policy in the Bolsonaro Government: The Response of Environmentalists in the Legislative Arena, by Suely Mara Vaz Guimarães de Araújo, “analyzes the response of Brazil’s National Congress to the Bolsonaro government’s actions in respect of environmental policy, with an emphasis on the role of the active members of the Congressional Environmental Coalition and the civil society organizations that support it. Congress’s three spheres of activity encompass lawmaking, legislative oversight and the budget. The main decision-making processes related to these fields of activity are highlighted and analyzed using a qualitative approach. In general, there is evidence of an appropriate response by environmentalists, the results of which should not be underestimated, but which should have greater reach in view of the gravity of the destruction of environmental protection policy that has taken and continues to take place. The Bolsonaro government has presided over an attempted evisceration of environmental policies by changing non-statutory rules and cutting budgets, but Congress has put the brakes on nationally applicable laws and strengthened Congressional oversight.” Access in: https://brazilianpoliticalsciencereview.org/article/environmental-policy-in-the-bolsonaro-government-the-response-of-environmentalists-in-the-legislative-arena/

The article Biological Megadiversity as a Tool of Soft Power and Development for Brazil, by Sérgio Abranches, provides “a brief overview of the importance of biodiversity and its value for Brazil and for the world. This theme will be on the Brazilian and global agendas over the coming decades. In the case of Brazil, vast biological diversity is a clear resource for global influence and a valuable tool of soft power that, along with other resources, constitutes a hugely important asset for the country’s economic and social progress.” Access in: https://brazilianpoliticalsciencereview.org/article/biological-megadiversity-as-a-tool-of-soft-power-and-development-for-brazil/

The article ‘Cerrado’, old and new agricultural frontiers, Mauro Pires,  aim at discuss the “occupation of the old and new agricultural frontiers in the ‘Cerrado’, highlighting the influence of official policies which, guided by a model of agricultural expansion intensive in capital, technology, and the use of natural resources, directed economic exploitation to ever more distant areas.”. The article is available at: https://brazilianpoliticalsciencereview.org/article/cerrado-old-and-new-agricultural-frontiers/

The “Forum” section is a space for a deep analysis of Brazilian problems that demand urgent answers.