By Rosaly Byrd-
Brazil’s Sustainability Network party (partido Rede Sustentabilidade), launched in February with help by former Environment Minister Marina Silva, has not achieved the 500,000 signatures required to be legally acknowledged as a new politically party in Brazil. Unfortunately, Brazil’s Higher Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral or TSE) announced yesterday that only 442,000 of Rede’s total 640,000 support signatures were valid. Without this official recognition, the party will not be able to host a candidate in the 2014 presidential elections. Marina Silva ran for presidency with Brazil’s Green Party in 2010, winning about 20% of all votes.
Rede Sustentabilidade’s political platform focuses on including environmental sustainability issues into Brazil’s plans for economic development. Marina Silva has stated that although the party was not able to achieve legal registration, Rede Sustentabilidade still has what is “most important: ethics.” Marina Silva, who is also a long-time environmental activist with major campaigns in defense of the Amazon Rainforest, has until Saturday to decide whether or not she would like to affiliate with another party to run for presidency.
Various countries throughout Latin America have “green” political parties, but only in Mexico and Brazil do these green parties actually have parliamentary representation (although environmental organizations criticize Mexico’s Verde Ecologista party as not having environmental knowledge but rather being built on individual interests). Brazil’s Partido Verde (Green Party of Brazil) was established in 1986.
The Sustainability Co-Op 
I am glad Brazil is trying to do something about the environment .
Knowing how brazilians operate, it is going to be a challenge.
Also, it is good to know that there is a good leader like Marina Silva.
Thanks for this great post!