לשם שמים
18
Spring 2021
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/democracy-hongkong.
https://time.com/5912573/hong-kong-democracyfuture/.
7 Ibid.
13 Maizland.
8 Maizland.
14 Austin Ramzy, “Hong Kong Court Convicts Democracy Leaders Over Protest March,” New York 9 Lily Kuo, “Hong Kong ‘Umbrella Movement’: Nine Convicted Over Protests,” The Guardian, April 9, 2019, Times, March 31, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/09/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/world/asia/ hong-kong-umbrella-movement-protesters-guilty-over- hong-kong-democracy-protest.html. pro-democracy-rallies-jail. 15 Barron. 10 Maizland.
16 Maizland.
11 Kuo. 12 Laignee Barron, “With Opposition Lawmakers Exiting the Legislature, What is the Future of Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement?” TIME, Nov. 20, 2020,
17 Zen Soo, “Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Lawmakers to Resign En Masse,” Associated Press, Nov. 11, 2020, https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-pro-democracyresign-en-masse-7434a6f1ac28a059827b51d02987f71c.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro Strikes a Blow to the Amazon and its People By Niva Cohen
Like other demagogues in recent years, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil has gained power through divisive rhetoric and a tough persona. He governs based on self-interest, not ideology. Many have paid the price for Bolsonaro’s egotistical and irresponsible approach. The trees of the Amazon rainforest die, and the lungs of the world blacken, as the president rolls back environmental regulations and pushes development of the Amazon. Indigenous people struggle in unclean towns, trying to ward off invaders who poach their land as Bolsonaro turns a blind eye. Nothing encapsulates his flawed leadership so much as his response to COVID-19, which killed Amazonians at three times the rate of urban Brazilians.1 The president did not enforce travel rules and did little to protect the vulnerable. Jair Bolsonaro’s policies wreaked havoc on the Amazon region because of their effect on the environment and Indigenous communities,
made worse by COVID-19. The Amazon rainforest is vast and lively. It includes one in ten known species and 1.4 billion acres of trees, which combat greenhouse gas emissions by trapping 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon.2 The Amazon makes up 40% of South America, and 60% of it lies in Brazil.3 Bolsonaro’s policy of exploiting the Amazon will negatively impact not only Brazilian citizens but everyone on Earth. Bolsonaro’s attitude toward the Amazon is politically motivated and shows little concern for the environment. He preys on the nationalistic fears of his base that other countries will take the Amazon away if leadership does not develop it, labeling foreign interference a product of “collonialist spirit.”4 Brazil’s urban citizens view the Amazon as an empty wasteland, despite an industry boom since the 1970s.5 The timber and mining
