Let’s get something straight from the start — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva didn’t kill the “devastation bill.” He didn’t even maim it. What he did was more like taking a chainsaw to a rainforest tree, stopping halfway through, and then patting himself on the back for “saving” it.
On Friday, Lula approved a law that critics have lovingly dubbed the “devastation bill,” a legislative gem designed to make environmental licensing in Brazil as easy as ordering fast food — except instead of fries, you get deforestation, poisoned rivers, and Indigenous communities wondering why they even bothered showing up to consultations in the first place.
But before the agribusiness lobby could pop champagne and start bulldozing jaguar habitat for soy plantations, Lula whipped out his pen and vetoed 63 of the bill’s nearly 400 articles. Cue the applause from NGOs, climate wonks, and the type of Twitter activists who think retweeting Greta Thunberg counts as reforestation.
Except here’s the kicker: the bill still passed. The damage is just wearing a nice cologne now.
From “No” to “Yes, But” in 63 Easy Steps
Lula’s executive secretary, Miriam Belchior, announced that these vetoes were aimed at preserving the integrity of Brazil’s licensing process. Integrity, in this case, is apparently a euphemism for “slightly less catastrophic than it could have been.”
Agribusiness wanted a buffet-style deregulation — one of those “serve yourself” environmental rules where companies just sign a cute little declaration of environmental commitment, pinky swear they’ll be good, and boom, they’re in business. No pesky inspections, no endless studies, no waiting periods.
In other words: the honor system.
If that sounds insane, it’s because it is. Imagine letting oil companies approve their own spill cleanups or letting children grade their own math tests. Sure, you’ll get results quickly — just not the ones you want.
Lula didn’t entirely cave, though. His revisions reinstated strict licensing for “strategic projects,” which sounds reassuring until you realize that “strategic” is a political mood, not a legal term. Today it’s hydroelectric dams, tomorrow it’s a luxury resort built on protected wetlands because “tourism is strategic.”
The Magic of the “Special Environmental Licence”
To fill the holes left by his own vetoes, Lula is introducing a “Special Environmental Licence” for fast-tracking strategic projects. Translation: bureaucracy-lite for the stuff powerful people really, really want to build.
Think of it like an “express lane” at the supermarket — except instead of ten items or less, it’s ten hectares of clear-cut rainforest or less.
Environment Minister Marina Silva assures us this won’t compromise “quality.” Sure. Because nothing says “quality” like cutting corners in the middle of a climate crisis. She insists the economy and ecology will be “part of the same equation.” It’s a lovely metaphor, except Brazil’s agribusiness sector has been solving that equation for decades, and their answer has always been:
Economy > Ecology
NGOs: Celebrating the Silver Medal Like It’s Gold
NGO SOS Atlantic Forest managed to gather over a million signatures calling for a full veto, so naturally they’re calling this partial veto “a victory.” Which is cute. It’s like losing 4–1 in the World Cup and celebrating because you “at least got a goal.”
Sure, 63 vetoes is better than zero. But the bill still relaxes licensing rules in ways that will be felt most by the Amazon, the Cerrado, and every Indigenous community living in those ecosystems. You can call it a “win” if you like, but only in the way getting punched in the stomach is a win over getting punched in the face.
The Political Reality Show
Here’s the other problem: Lula’s changes aren’t permanent. His new bill with “alternative text” goes back to Congress for approval, and Brazil’s Congress is dominated by conservatives who would happily host a demolition derby in the middle of a national park if it turned a profit.
This is the same Congress that’s overturned Lula’s vetoes before. The same Congress where lawmakers still aligned with Jair “Chainsaw Enthusiast” Bolsonaro are currently stonewalling legislation because they want coup charges against their dear leader dropped.
The odds of them embracing Lula’s environmentally-conscious tweaks are about as high as Bolsonaro joining Greenpeace.
Lula’s Cannes Cameo: Because Optics Matter More Than Oxygen
If you want to understand the absurdity of this moment, consider Lula’s public schedule. Days before signing this “devastation bill,” he’s posing at the Alvorada Palace with a Cannes Film Festival award alongside Wagner Moura and Kleber Mendonça Filho.
Nothing screams global climate leader quite like holding a European film prize in one hand while signing rainforest rollbacks with the other. It’s like eating a vegan salad during the day and running a butcher shop at night.
Of course, Lula’s environmental image matters right now because the UN climate summit is in Belem this November — in the Amazon. And what better way to prepare for a climate summit than to greenlight faster, easier permits for projects that cut into carbon sinks?
It’s as if the host city for the Olympics decided to demolish its stadiums the week before the opening ceremony.
Agribusiness: The Real Power Behind the Throne
Let’s not kid ourselves. Brazil’s agribusiness sector has more political weight than almost any other force in the country. They export billions in soy, beef, and sugarcane, and they treat environmental regulations the way teenagers treat curfews — something to be ignored, bent, or negotiated away.
The “devastation bill” was their dream come true. The fact Lula didn’t give them everything they wanted will sting, but they still got a massive deregulation framework approved.
It’s like ordering a triple cheeseburger and being told they’re out of bacon. Sure, you’re disappointed, but you still have heart disease on a bun.
The Bigger Picture: Brazil’s Climate Promises Are Now on a Diet
Marina Silva says Lula’s changes keep Brazil on track to meet its pledge to reach zero deforestation by 2030 and cut CO₂ emissions by up to 67%. That’s a bold claim, especially given that Brazil’s deforestation rates have historically spiked whenever licensing rules were weakened.
Environmental enforcement in Brazil is already a game of political will — the laws on the books mean little if inspectors are underfunded, intimidated, or outright blocked from doing their jobs. Now add a legal framework that speeds up approvals and narrows oversight, and suddenly those climate targets look less like a roadmap and more like a suggestion box.
The “Death by a Thousand Cuts” Strategy
The genius of this bill isn’t in its headline deregulations — it’s in the dozens of smaller, quieter changes that chip away at Brazil’s environmental protections. You might not notice one or two relaxed rules here and there, but over time, the cumulative effect is devastating.
This is how the Amazon disappears: not in a single bonfire of legislation, but in dozens of subtle amendments, exemptions, and fast-track licenses, each of which is “reasonable” in isolation.
So, Is Lula the Hero or the Villain?
That depends on your standards. If your baseline is Bolsonaro, then Lula looks like Captain Planet. Compared to a man who openly encouraged deforestation and gutted environmental agencies, Lula’s 63 vetoes are downright noble.
But if your baseline is, say, the scientific consensus on what’s needed to avoid climate catastrophe, then Lula just approved a law that accelerates environmental degradation — only with nicer branding.
It’s political judo: use your opponent’s momentum (agribusiness’s lobbying) to flip them over just enough to look like you’re in control, while still letting them walk away with the prize.
Final Thought: Climate Leadership Requires More Than Optics
By November, Lula will stand on the UN climate summit stage in Belem and talk about Brazil’s “commitment” to the planet. He’ll point to the 63 vetoes as proof that he stood up to the “devastation bill.” The audience will clap.
And somewhere, far from the air-conditioned conference hall, an excavator will be clearing rainforest for a “strategic project” with its shiny new Special Environmental Licence.
The lesson here is that in 2025, environmental politics is less about saving the planet and more about saving face. Lula isn’t destroying the Amazon outright — he’s just selling off the pieces more slowly, and with better PR.
And if you think that’s a win, I have a pinky-swear environmental commitment form to sell you.