“We are victims of one of the most brutal disinformation campaigns about the Amazon”: an analysis of Jair Bolsonaro’s speeches at the UN (2019– 2022)

Autores/as

  • Klaus Ramalho von Behr Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development, PhD student, Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8609-3372
  • Tiago Ribeiro Duarte PhD in Sociology, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1625-6866

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v16n3.2025.58913

Palabras clave:

Bolsonaro administration, Anti-environmental policy, Coproduction, Denialism, Environmental dismantling

Resumen

An aspect that drew attention during the Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022) was his anti environmental rhetoric and policy. The central argument of this article is that by denying environmental sciences, Bolsonaro not only sought to dismantle an epistemic order based on mainstream scientific knowledge, but also to (de)construct a social order. To support this argument, we analysed his United Nations speeches from 2019 to 2022 using the notion of coproduction, as defined in Science and Technology Studies (STS) by Jasanoff (2004a, 2004b). The results show Bolsonaro’s attempt to produce new representations for the Amazon and new identities for the media, science, foreign countries and a “new Brazil.” We conclude that Bolsonaro sought to redefine the truth about environmental issues in the country to underpin and legitimise the dismantling of an institutional order of environmental protection built in Brazil over decades. Based on this conclusion, we critically reflect on the STS literature on the denialism of Jair Bolsonaro and his followers and on the concept of post-truth.

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Biografía del autor/a

Klaus Ramalho von Behr, Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development, PhD student, Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

Klaus Ramalho von Behr is a historian from the State University of Campinas, holds a master's degree in Sustainable Development from the Center for Sustainable Development (CDS) at the University of Brasília, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the CDS. He completed a doctoral sandwich program at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) in Potsdam, Germany.

Tiago Ribeiro Duarte, PhD in Sociology, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

Tiago Ribeiro Duarte holds a master's degree in Sociology and a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and received his PhD in sociology from Cardiff University. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Brasília and director of the research group Sciences, Technologies and Publics (CTP).

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Publicado

2025-12-28

Cómo citar

Behr, K. R. von, & Duarte, T. R. (2025). “We are victims of one of the most brutal disinformation campaigns about the Amazon”: an analysis of Jair Bolsonaro’s speeches at the UN (2019– 2022). Sustainability in Debate, 16(3), 328–358. https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v16n3.2025.58913

Número

Vol. 16 Núm. 3 (2025): Sustainability in Debate

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Articles - Varia

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Derechos de autor 2025 Sustainability in Debate

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