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with the Sierra Club and the National Audubon Society in the USA, as well as
with environmental groups in Europe. These were the models chosen to follow
and in 1971, the
Associação Gaúcha de Proteção ao Ambiente Natural
(AGAPAN), the Gaucha Association for the Protection of the Natural Environment
was founded. It was the fi rst ecological association in Brazil and South America,
and was taken as a model for the creation of many others. Lutzenberger soon
became the best known member of the group, thanks to his strong personality
and scientifi cally based arguments. His persuasiveness, sincerity, and enthusiasm
led him to become the most outspoken advocate of the environment in Brazil and
the fi rst Brazilian environmental activist, after Chico Mendes, to acquire interna-
tional visibility. He soon built up a network of contacts that encompassed the fi ve
continents. Among his personal friends he counted Herman Daly, Amory Lovins,
Ross Jackson, and Hazel Henderson. Prince Charles himself was one of those
who encouraged Lutzenberger's activities.
When Lutzenberger came back to Brazil, the country was still ruled by the mili-
tary regime, which fostered efforts to promote industrial growth and mega infra-
structure projects, such as the Itaipú dam and the Transamazon highway. Taking
advantage of the favorable international economic conditions, heavy loans were
taken. The civil society was under censorship, not allowed to organize itself and
take part in policy decisions.
Fernando Collor de Mello, who in March 15, 1991 invited Lutzenberger to be his
Minister of the Environment, was the fi rst democratically elected civil president of
Brazil, after 30 years of military regime. Fernando Collor in his presidential cam-
paign focused on restoring the credibility of public administration in Brazil. He
wanted the nation, under his administration, to build up an image as a serious, reli-
able country, so that he could attract international investment. At that time, Brazil
was being pilloried as a major environmental villain, due to the devastation of the
Amazon rainforest. Seeking useful green credentials, he accepted Prince Charles's
suggestion that he engage Lutzenberger as his Environmental Minister. The presi-
dential invitation was accepted. Lutzenberger believed that he could achieve more
in government than outside of it, although for him, that decision was a very diffi cult
one. According to Fernandes and Valença (
2004
, p. 246):
he tried to implement a radically new model of environmental policy, abandoning the tech-
nocratic approach and the mega projects, and inviting the local populations to participate.
Consequently, he soon was in confl ict with the reigning system. His main opponents were
the ruralists' representatives in Congress and the lumber industry men.
He fi gured that the existing government policies, inherited from the military
regime, were not protecting the Amazon forest, but, on the contrary, encouraged its
degradation by miners, loggers, and other corporate interests. In addition to that, he
was against the megaprojects cherished by the military regime, such as nuclear-
weapons production and the construction of gigantic dams. He soon attracted strong
opposition from the Supreme School of War. The National Forest Service (IBAMA,
Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais
), politicians, and
lobbyists also joined forces with the military against Lutzenberger.
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