One senator claimed it 'respected sustainability' while promoting growth..

Protesters took to the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday November 30, 2025, after Congress overturned President Luiz Lula da Silva's vetoes on key environmental-licensing rules.

Footage from Avenida Paulista showed activists with marked photographs of parliamentarians who supported the vote with a red 'X'. Residents viewed and filmed the display.

"We are here today in the hot sun, always remembering that we are in a climate crisis and we cannot let vetoes as important as Lula's be overturned. We cannot let bills like this pass. We cannot let laws that make environmental law more flexible," a protester said.

"We have to hope that the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional and that the votes, Lula's vetoes, remain," another added. "It is the minimum, because otherwise it is an absurd step backwards."

On Thursday, November 27, 2025, Congress cancelled 52 vetoes that President Lula had placed on the 2025 Environmental Licensing Law.

The vetoes preserved strict regulations and required companies to prove their projects would not harm the environment before receiving approval.

Critics who called the new law the 'Devastation Bill', argued that it weakened protections for forests, Indigenous lands and rivers, and limits mandatory consultations with Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian communities.

Supporters argued it cuts red tape, speeds up development projects and helps Brazil's economy.