Brazil's Lula cuts losses after setbacks on environment and Indigenous front

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures before the summit with presidents of South America to discuss the re-launching of the regional cooperation bloc UNASUR, in Brasilia, Brazil, May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has suffered a major defeat over important legislation protecting the Amazon rainforest and the Indigenous people who live in it, and he has had to cut his losses in a conservative Congress.

Lawmakers backed by the powerful farm lobby in this agricultural powerhouse voted 283-155 on Tuesday night to pass a bill that would limit the recognition of new Indigenous reservations, a decision seen by environmentalists and human rights advocates as a setback.