San Francisco Frontiers - Brazil's Indigenous back Lula as El Nino fuels forest fires

The leftist leader is running for a fourth term against right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, and the choice is clear for Brazil's climate-conscious Indigenous groups.

The Tres Unidos village of 120 people sits on the banks of the Rio Negro, an important tributary flowing through the Amazon rainforest.

The Kambeba people have spent the last few weeks inhaling the smoke of forest fires, which authorities warn will worsen as the El Nino weather pattern advances.

"The fires are damaging air quality. Children and elderly people are at risk of death; several residents have suffered from coughing or vision problems," Da Silva, 67, told AFP.

Tatiane Costa can't stop worrying about her daughter, a student in the city of Manaus.

The capital of Amazonas state spent several days under a thick cloud of smoke last month.

"She called me to say she wanted to go back to the village because she had inhaled a lot of smoke," Costa, 38, said as jewelry made of red seeds jangled around her neck.

Tres Unidos residents clambered onto boats to travel to a nearby village to vote on Sunday.

Some of the passengers made an "L" sign with their hands on the way, in a gesture of support for Lula.

- 'Strength of the jaguar' -

On the eve of the election, Da Silva hosted a ritual of song and dance to give the incumbent "the courage and strength of the jaguar."

Lula, who enjoys broad support from Brazil's Indigenous communities, created a ministry dedicated to them in 2023.

He also reinstated the recognition of Indigenous reserves when he returned to office that year, which had been halted when ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro -- Flavio Bolsonaro's father -- was in power.

Deforestation in the Amazon increased sharply during the senior Bolsonaro's mandate.

The family of right-wing politicians "is a threat to me and my family," Costa said.

"We Indigenous peoples suffer greatly from environmental impacts," said Tainara da Costa.

The 22-year-old adorned with face paint voted for Lula because "he defends our territory and nature," she told AFP.

- Charred iguanas -

Footage shot Friday by an AFP journalist showed scorched swaths of land in the Iranduba municipality close to Manaus.

The burnt earth contrasts starkly with the emerald green trees in the surrounding area, and firefighters were still struggling to extinguish countless hotspots on Sunday.

Charred iguanas and ashes littered the ground around them.

The Amazonas state endured 3,726 fires in September, over four times the number of outbreaks the same month last year, official figures showed.

El Nino provoked exceptional drought and wildfires in Brazil in 2024.

In July, the government announced funds worth almost $250 million to go towards fighting the effects of the weather pattern.

The phenomenon, which warms surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and causes worldwide changes to wind and rain patterns, is predicted to be stronger than ever this year.

Speaking at a ministerial meeting in September, Lula said Brazil had never done so much to face El Nino.

"We still don't know whether we'll manage it, because we still don't know how intense it will be, but we have never acted so quickly to prevent the population from suffering," he said.

B.Turner--SFF