Measures already announced clash with the Constitution. Civil society, acting in defence of democracy and human rights, will stand up to setbacks...Without any debate, without any clear proposals, replete with misinformation and empty but shocking phrases and with a discourse of hatred and authoritarianism, Jair Bolsonaro’s candidacy secured the majority of the votes in the run-off on Sunday 28 October and he was declared the winner. The current president-elect and his closest aids’ backgrounds, along with the scarce, poorly articulated proposals contained in the government plan presented to the TSE (High Electoral Court) reveal a series of threats to democratic freedom and the dismantling of public policies that guarantee rights, which have been arduously won over the past thirty years...

In socio-environmental matters the proposal to abolish the Ministry of the Environment and to place this area under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Agriculture is worrying, as the farming industry is the very sector responsible for destroying a large part of the native Amazon rainforest...This package may also include the weakening of both environmental licencing and measures for combatting slave labour, as well as Brazil’s departure from the Paris Agreement, the main international charter for commitment to fight climate change. The now president-elect’s speeches point to a difficult time for indigenous people and quilombolas in the coming term of office. Bolsonaro had already stated that should he form a government, no territory would be demarcated and he has threatened to cancel no fewer than 129 lawsuits for land demarcation which are in progress. Similarly, there is a proposal to allow protected areas to be mined or sold, a measure which goes against the Constitution...

Also of concern is the attempt to criminalize social movements and the vague, but threatening and intimidating remarks against activism in Brazil.