General Seminar in Politics and Government - Danielle H. Rached

Navigating the Divide: Challenges for Brazil's Climate Agenda After Bolsonaro

The climate crisis has been regarded by right-wing political forces worldwide as a denied and minimized phenomenon, almost an invention of the “other"—that is, progressives, environmentalists, scientists, activists, and leftists. Structural factors, such as the transformations of capitalism in post-industrial societies, along with ideological reasons like the cost of each sector's transition and individuals facing a diffuse object with uncertain impacts, have been identified as causes for this relationship.

Conversely, the alignment of intellectuals, scientists, and activists with left-wing forces brings left-wing parties and leaders closer to the climate agenda and, more broadly, to the socio-environmental agenda, raising expectations about their rhetoric and actions on the issue. Despite the emphatic discourse and desires of left-wing supporters, the connection between the left and climate/environment has been characterized by tensions, contradictions, ambiguities, and hesitations. The conversation analyses the relationship between the climate/environmental agenda and politics based on the experiences of the right and left in Brazil during the governments of Jair Bolsonaro (2018-2022) and Lula da Silva (2023-).

Bio:
Danielle Hanna Rached teaches international law and related subjects at the Institute of International Relations of the University of São Paulo (IRI-USP). Her main research interests are in the governance arrangements of the International Climate Change Regime and the impacts of the climate crisis for the Amazon. She received her graduate degrees from University of Edinburgh (LL.M. and PhD)