brazilian government, namely the environment minister joaquim leite had claimed were due to dry weather. however, satellite imaging showed these fires occurring where rainforest had been cleared for deforestation, and where as a rainforest it would not make sense to have such fires. what they found was that these fires were driven by criminal organizations using violence and intimidation upon forest defenders so that they could benefit from the deforestation. they linked 28 killings of people who were trying to stop these fires back to the criminal networks. bolsonaro has cleared a path for criminals such as these to operate with few consequences, making illegal deforestation almost impossible to prosecute. one of the large reasons for the recent increase in deforestation in the amazon rainforest has been the ruralista movement, also known as the landless workers movement. their message is that the large swaths of the amazon that serve no purpose will be widely privatized, providing a flow of money for the brazilian economy. this movement consists mainly of very wealthy, conservative people who have used their money to gain political power. with this power, they have acquired a significant membershio in brazil's national congress. their first notable action was rewriting the country's forest code in 2012, where they essentially managed to grant amnesty for illegal deforestation of the amazon. these ruralistas were also heavy supporters of bolsonaro's campaign, and he has repaid them by selecting multiple ruralistas to be ministers, such as the ministers of agriculture and the environment. therefore, while bolsonaro remains in power, the ruralista agenda of using the amazon's resources at any environmental cost will continue. while bolsonaro's administration has certainly damaged the brazilian environment considerably, he is restricted in several ways. for example, agribusiness is a very large and important part of the brazilian economy, and therefore it is very important in congress. influential sectors of agribusiness are committed to environmental protection, and this balances out some of the ruralista violations. another is that international pressure, such as the environmental summits that bolsonaro attends have considerable influence. president bolsonaro, especially with an election coming up, favors having some credibility with the international environmental protection community. the public prosecutor's office and the brazilian judiciary have both been instrumental in limiting the amount of damage that the president is able to inflict upon the environment. under bolsonaro, brazil has been environmentally a very different country than they have been historically. for example, in 2009 brazil committed to decreasing deforestation to 4,000 square per year, but deforestation has been increasing every year since 2012. in addition, they made a commitment under the paris agreement to eliminate all deforestation by 2030, which they could still accomplish under different leadership. housing such a massive portion of the amazon rainforest, an important carbon sink, puts brazil in a position of major power with whether the country chooses to help or hurt the earth's worsening climate change issues. if boslonaro is re-elected, the country will continue to increase deforestation, but if another candidate such as luiz inácio lula da silva, chances are good that the country re-aligns with their historical identity as a champion of environmental rights.