In the Amazon rainforest, historic levels of deforestation and fire have prompted global outcry. But what’s driving the devastation? Amna Nawaz and producer Mike Fritz traveled to Brazil to better understand both the physical and political dynamics at play.
The series' first report focuses on the influence of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, an advocate for logging and developing the Amazon.
He's been dubbed the Trump of the Tropics, both for his surprising rise to power and for a history of controversial and offensive speech.
President Jair Bolsonaro swept into office in January, promising to jump-start a failing economy by fighting widespread corruption and high levels of violence in Brazilian cities.
Over his 27 years in Congress, Bolsonaro built a reputation for holding far-right views and a thundering disdain for political correctness, like in 2003, when he told a fellow Brazilian lawmaker she wasn't worth raping.
The former army captain has long praised Brazil's former military dictatorship. He's said he'd be incapable of loving a homosexual son, and advocated for the use of firing squads to kill suspected criminals.
But last September, Bolsonaro became a target of violence himself, stabbed in the stomach while campaigning for president. He survived, saying God saved him to lead Brazil, then cruised to victory weeks later by tapping into national outrage over a massive corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash.
The years-long probe uncovered a vast and unprecedented web of political and corporate racketeering. Several lawmakers went to jail, including former President Lula da Silva. Public backlash against the establishment was swift and severe.
The most recent crisis? The anti-corruption candidate now faces his own corruption scandal. Leaked messages and audio allege collusion between prosecutors and a then judge, now Bolsonaro's handpicked justice minister, an effort, critics say, to keep former President Lula locked up on corruption charges and out of last year's election.
Recently, Bolsonaro, who was elected with 55 percent of the vote, has seen his support start to slip. Polls show only about a third of Brazilians now view his presidency positively.
But the president still enjoys strong support and loyalty from his base. Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets earlier this summer at pro-government rallies around Brazil, this one in Sao Paulo.
