Amazon Watch Warns Brazil’s New Congress Could Weaken Indigenous Protections

Amazon Watch warned on October 5 that Brazil’s newly elected Congress could strengthen efforts to allow mining on Indigenous lands and weaken territorial and environmental safeguards. The organization said the Liberal Party would enter 2027 with 121 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 28 in the Senate, the largest party caucus in both houses. Its legal adviser, Ana Alfinito, said the stronger Senate bloc increases pressure on institutions protecting constitutional rights, although the party cannot remove a Supreme Court justice alone. The warning came ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff between Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.