Marina Silva facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marina Silva
Silva in 2024
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2023
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Preceded by	Joaquim Alvaro Pereira Leite
In office 1 January 2003 – 13 May 2008
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Preceded by	José Carlos Carvalho
Succeeded by	Carlos Minc
Spokesperson of the Sustainability Network
In office 22 September 2015 – 8 April 2018 Serving with Zé Gustavo
Succeeded by	Pedro Ivo Batista Laís Garcia
Senator for Acre
In office 15 May 2008 – 1 February 2011
Preceded by	Sibá Machado
Succeeded by	Jorge Viana
In office 1 February 1995 – 2 February 2003
Preceded by	Aluísio Bezerra
Succeeded by	Sibá Machado
Federal Deputy for São Paulo
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 February 2023
State Deputy of Acre
In office 1 February 1991 – 1 February 1995
Constituency	At-large
Councillor of Rio Branco
In office 1 January 1989 – 1 February 1991
Constituency	At-large
Personal details
Born	Maria Osmarina da Silva (1958-02-08) 8 February 1958 (age 67) Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Political party	REDE (2015–present)
Other political affiliations	PT (1986–2008) PV (2008–2011) PSB (2013–2015)
Spouse	Fábio Vaz de Lima ​ (m. 1986)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Federal University of Acre

Marina Silva (born 8 February 1958) is a Brazilian politician and environmentalist. This means she works to protect nature and also holds public office. She is currently the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, a job she also had from 2003 to 2008.

Marina Silva helped start and was a leader of the Sustainability Network (REDE), a political party focused on sustainable development. She was a senator for the state of Acre from 1995 to 2011. Since 2023, she has been a federal deputy for the state of São Paulo. She has also run for president of Brazil several times.

Silva has received many awards from groups around the world for her work in protecting the environment. In 2010, she was recognized by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top global thinkers for making Green ideas more popular. She was also chosen to carry the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

Early Life and Education

Marina Silva in Xapuri, Acre

Silva in the Amazon rainforest, Acre, with a picture of Chico Mendes in the background

Marina Silva was born Maria Osmarina da Silva in a small village called Breu Velho, about 70 kilometers from Rio Branco, Acre. Her family were rubber tappers, which means they collected latex from rubber trees in the Amazon rainforest. She was one of eleven children. Growing up, she faced many health challenges, including malaria.

When she was 16, Marina became an orphan. She moved to the state capital, Rio Branco, to get medical help for hepatitis and to study. Nuns at a convent took her in and helped her get an education. She was the first person in her family to learn how to read and write. After leaving the convent, she worked as a housemaid to pay for her lodging. At 26, she earned a history degree from the Federal University of Acre. During this time, she became very involved in politics and helped create Acre's first workers' union in 1984.

Early Political Career

Marina Silva worked with Chico Mendes, a famous environmental activist, to lead protests called empates. These protests aimed to stop deforestation and prevent forest communities from being forced out of their homes.

She helped Chico Mendes lead the trade union movement. In 1988, she was elected as a councillor for Rio Branco, which was her first public office. A councillor helps make decisions for a city.

Becoming a Senator for Acre

In 1994, Marina Silva made history by becoming the first rubber tapper ever elected to the Federal Senate. As a senator from the Amazon region, she worked hard to protect the environment in the reserves and to promote social fairness and sustainable development for the people living there. Sustainable development means meeting the needs of today without harming the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environment Minister (2003-2008)

As a member of the Workers' Party, Marina Silva was chosen by President Lula to be the Minister of the Environment in his first term.

In 2005, Silva set out her main goals for the ministry: involving people in decisions, promoting sustainable development, creating a national environmental system, and developing a complete environmental policy. She said, "Our ministry is new... and it needs to be rebuilt."

Positive Impact on Deforestation

During her time as minister, from 2004 to 2007, deforestation in the Amazon decreased by 59%. She put in place a plan called "The Action Plan For The Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon." This plan worked to encourage sustainable development, organize land use, and value the standing forests. It also included ideas from international agreements. Silva stated that "when there is integrated planning and effort, it is truly possible to change the picture."

Resignation

Marina Silva stayed in her role until 2008. She faced some criticism from businesses, especially those in farming, because of delays in getting permits for projects that could have a big environmental impact. She often said she would not give up on challenges, even if they came from within the government, such as disagreements over the São Francisco River Diversion Project or building a highway through the rainforest.

Silva resigned from Lula's government in May 2008. She explained that there was "growing resistance" from important parts of the government and society to her team's work. Tensions grew when President Lula chose another minister to lead a sustainable development plan for the Amazon instead of her. She felt increasingly alone in the government because of her strong views against certain projects like hydroelectric dams and genetically modified crops.

Presidential Campaigns

Silva (center) with Thomas Lovejoy and Stephen Schneider

2010 Presidential Election

On 19 August 2009, Marina Silva announced she was leaving the Workers' Party to join the Green Party. She did this mainly because she disagreed with the Workers' Party's environmental policies. She then ran for president in the 2010 election as the Green Party candidate. Silva said she wanted to be "the first black woman of poor origin" to become president of Brazil.

In her campaign, Silva talked about citizen-based political values, education, a sustainable economy, social protection, and improving quality of life. She spoke out against corruption and for sustainable development, which attracted many people who were looking for a new option.

Marina Silva received strong support from young and highly educated voters. Even though her party had much less TV time than the bigger parties, she received 19.4% of the votes. This was much more than expected, but not enough to move on to the second round of voting.

2014 Presidential Election

With Eduardo Campos.

In April 2014, Eduardo Campos announced he would run for president in the October 2014 election, and he chose Marina Silva as his candidate for vice president.

Starting the Sustainability Network

On 16 February 2013, a new political party called Rede Sustentabilidade ("Sustainability Network") was officially launched. Its founders wanted the party to be known simply as REDE ("NETWORK"). However, on 4 October 2013, the Superior Electoral Court blocked the party's creation because it didn't have enough signatures to be registered. The next day, Marina announced she was joining the Brazilian Socialist Party.

After Eduardo Campos's Death

On 13 August 2014, Eduardo Campos's private jet crashed. After his death, Marina Silva became the Socialist Party's candidate for president.

Soon after taking over the campaign, Marina's poll numbers went up. She had strong support among young voters and evangelical Christians. However, her strong environmental views made some powerful farming businesses wary of her.

In the first round of the election on 5 October 2014, Silva received 21% of the votes. This was less than many polls predicted, and she did not advance to the second round. She later supported another candidate, Aecio Neves, in the runoff election.

2018 Presidential Election

On 4 August 2018, Marina Silva was officially chosen as the presidential candidate for the Sustainability Network in the 2018 elections. Her running mate was Eduardo Jorge from the Green Party.

Before the election, polls showed Marina Silva in third place, but her numbers dropped closer to the election. She finished in eighth place, receiving about 1% of the votes.

Return to Government (2022)

2022 Presidential Election

On 12 September 2022, Marina Silva publicly supported former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a third term as president in the October general election. She said it was important "to beat Bolsonaro and the evil seeds he is sowing in our society." Lula, in turn, promised to put into action environmental ideas presented by Silva if he won. This event was seen as a big step towards Marina Silva and the Workers' Party working together again.

Minister of the Environment Again

After Lula won the election, he announced on 29 December that Marina Silva would return as Minister of the Environment. Additionally, Silva was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of REDE for São Paulo.

Political Views

Marina Silva is generally seen as a centrist and a strong environmentalist. She has campaigned against corruption in government. She is against Brazil's nuclear energy program and wants to use those funds for solar and wind power instead. She also wants to have a national vote on nuclear energy investments. She supports setting limits on how many terms a president can serve.

Religious Views

Since 1996, Marina Silva has been a Pentecostal Christian, belonging to the Assemblies of God, which is a large Christian group in Brazil.

Honors and Awards for Marina Silva

In 1996, Marina Silva won the Goldman Environmental Prize for South & Central America, which is a major award for environmental heroes. In 2007, the United Nations Environment Program named her one of the Champions of the Earth, and in 2009, she received the Sophie Prize. In December 2014, the British newspaper Financial Times chose Marina Silva as one of its Women of the Year. Silva is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

Carrying the Olympic Flag (2012)

Marina Silva was one of eight people chosen to carry the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympics. This was a surprise to some Brazilian government officials. In the Brazilian press, headlines appeared like "Marina steals Dilma's attention." The Olympic Committee said they knew about Silva's work as an activist for the rainforest and denied any political reasons for choosing her. Silva compared carrying the flag to the happiness she felt at age 16 when she learned to read and write.

Marina Silva's Electoral History

See also

In Spanish: Marina Silva para niños