When Typhoon Haiyan destroyed cities in the Philippines in 2013, leaving thousands dead, an unprecedented social crisis took hold in the country. The declared state of national calamity turned out to be the perfect platform for the rise of Rodrigo Duterte, who led an authoritarian political regime that relativized civil rights.
The earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti in 2010 also exposed the country to a social upheaval that lasts until today and affected other countries.
Brazilian military troops who worked in peace missions in the country acquired experience in urban conflicts, which, according to experts, was taken to military interventions in public security in Rio de Janeiro and later incorporated into the government of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
One way or another, the climate change scenario imposes new pressures on politics globally, and experts already point out how they may favor the far-right. Immigrants who had to escape their countries due to natural disasters reignited nationalist feelings that culminated in the rise of extremist wings in European countries and the U.S.
And the way in which a politician positions themself in the face of climate adversity is also decisive for their success or downfall.
Congressman Pedro Aihara of Minas Gerais, for example, gained notoriety while he was the spokesman for firefighters who worked in the Brumadinho disaster — when an iron ore dam collapsed and killed 270 people. He went on to serve as the state’s “disaster communicator” and used adverse...
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