11/05/18: On Sunday, October 28, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain won a sweeping victory in Brazil’s presidential election. He has received intense international criticism for his comments on race, women, and homosexuality, and his support of the former military dictatorship. In addition to the aforementioned stances, he is fiercely anti-environmental regulation. He has pledged to gut the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), the ministry that enforces Brazil’s forestry laws, arguing that they over-fine landowners and hold back development. This would undoubtedly have serious implications for the rate of deforestation in Brazil, which in turn affects land-use practices and food production. Click here for Reuters’ full coverage of this development.