Silent Greens

There are no fires near then:

Wildfires in the Amazon rainforest have been a recurring political subject for Brazil, both nationally and internationally. In 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron and American celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and singer Madonna spearheaded a campaign against then-President Jair Bolsonaro using old pictures of the rainforest to accuse him of causing an emergency in the area. In 2021, DiCaprio joined other celebrities such as Mark Ruffalo, Alec Baldwin, and Katy Perry in pressuring U.S. President Joe Biden to take action against Bolsonaro for the purported “threat” that he and his policies allegedly posed to the rainforest. Despite the record-breaking number of fires in the rainforest this year and the dire emergency situation, celebrities who repeatedly condemned Bolsonaro during his tenure have not similarly condemned Lula as of press time. Ruffalo, a self-proclaimed “climate justice advocate” as per his Twitter profile, has made no public mention of the Amazon fires on his social media, instead focusing on commenting on Israel’s war in Gaza and participating in events in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

Fires should be smelled, not seen...