Lula's Oil Gambit: A Calculated Move in Brazil's Election Year Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has long championed renewable energy and reducing Brazil's dependence on fossil fuels.
However, as he embarks on a re election campaign, his administration's push to drill for oil near the Amazon River has sparked controversy.
Lula visited a Petrobras drilling vessel off the coast of Amapa state last week, describing the new find as "a passport to Brazil's future. " This echoes his own 2002 campaign slogans.