Switzerland’s foreign minister and current president, Ignazio Cassis, congratulated Lula in a written letter, the foreign ministry confirmed on Monday.
Several Swiss political parties also took to social media to celebrate leftist Lula’s tight success and the end of Jair Bolsonaro’s rightwing presidency.
The left-wing Social Democratic Party tweeted that the result is a “victory for democracy, more social justice and climate protection”, while the Green Party spoke of an “election victory that gives hope – for democracy, human rights, and global climate protection”.
Rainforest concerns
“There is now hope that the situation will improve for the indigenous communities [in Brazil] and the protection of the environment,” stated Julia Büsser, campaign manager for the NGO Society for Threatened Peoples.
Under Bolsonaro’s tenure, destruction of the Amazon rain forest increased along with deaths of many indigenous people who live there, the NGO said.
For its part, Greenpeace said it welcomed the election result but pointed out that Bolsonaro’s party still had control of Brazil’s Congress.
Lula’s return to power carries the hopes of many people that environmental destruction will slow in Brazil.
The presidential election campaign was contentious and frequently violent. In Switzerland, supporters of both factions had to be separated by police while demonstrating in favour of their preferred candidate.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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Brazil elections: Police split up supporters in Geneva
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Geneva police had to intervene on Sunday to separate supporters of right-wing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his leftist rival Lula.
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“The measures issued by the Committee are not recommendations. They are legally binding and impose an international legal obligation on Brazil to comply,” Sarah ClevelandExternal link, author of the committee’s final text, told swissinfo.ch on Wednesday. The Geneva-based panel of independent experts last week requested that the Brazilian government allow the imprisoned former president, known…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.