How Brazilian agribusiness became a vector for putschism

During his time in office, Jair Bolsonaro demonstrated unwavering support for agricultural producers. In the first half of his term (2019-2021) alone, his administration enacted 57 legislative measures that weakened conservation laws and favored agribusiness interests. 

The measures chipped away at various parts of the legal framework that protects the environment. Experts see an intent to make them go unnoticed, which would explain why they were enacted in a piecemeal fashion. 

The result of this push seems rather obvious. Recent official data showed that deforestation increased by nearly 60 percent during the Bolsonaro years, compared to the annual average from 2015-2018, when Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer were presidents. Cattle ranching and agriculture are key drivers of deforestation in Brazil.

But it wasn’t a one-way relationship. 

Farmers were heavily involved in the former president’s failed re-election bid. They accounted for most of the BRL 22 million (USD 4.3 million) that Mr. Bolsonaro’s campaign received in donations. The largest individual donor was a man who owns farmland that, if combined, would be equivalent to the area of Austin, Texas. 

The effort paid off, as Mr. Bolsonaro won a majority of votes in 77 of the 100 wealthiest municipalities that rely on agribusiness for their local economies.

And farmers’ support for Mr. Bolsonaro went far beyond that. Reports show that they were also part of the putschist movement that culminated in the storming and ransacking of government buildings in Brasília on January 8. 

The Brazil Green and Yellow Movement, which brings together more than 300 rural producers’ associations, called on protesters to “take power” in a...