Iconic photographer Salgado endorses Lula in Brazil vote

Acclaimed photographer Sebastiao Salgado urged his fellow Brazilians Wednesday to vote out far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, excoriating his “suicidal”, “destructive” policies on Covid-19 and the Amazon and backing leftist challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The 78-year-old photojournalist, famed for his gripping black-and-white portraits of natural wonders and human catastrophes, made the appeal in an Instagram video four days before a polarizing runoff election that he called a “dramatic moment for the history of Brazil.”

Bolsonaro’s government, he said, “was responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Brazilians, through a suicidal policy (on) Covid-19,” a reference to the more than 680,000 lives lost to the pandemic in Brazil.

It is, he continued, “a government that massively destroyed the Amazon rainforest… that has failed to respect Indigenous communities and minorities. A government that is arming the Brazilian people in a brutal way.”

Salgado’s latest exhibition, “Amazonia,” which has been touring world capitals since last year, is a visual love letter to the world’s biggest rainforest — where fires and deforestation have surged under Bolsonaro.

The photographer went on to praise Lula for his “colossal performance” as president from 2003 to 2010.

“He really transformed Brazil into a developing country, a country that was highly recognized on an international level,” he said.

“Today we are divided, we no longer talk to our (friends), our relatives… We have to vote for the reunification of Brazil and for democracy.”

It was the latest celebrity appeal ahead of Sunday’s runoff, which has also drawn endorsements from the likes of legendary singer Caetano Veloso (Lula) and football superstar Neymar (Bolsonaro).