When Brazilian Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew over the floods that have inundated the southern part of his country on Sunday, he not only surveyed the devastation that has killed at least 107 people and displaced 165,000, but also a defining moment before his presidency.
In addition to devastation, natural disasters, such as the record-breaking deluge that struck the state of Rio Grande do Sul, carry enormous power to reshape a country’s politics.
In 2005, George W. Bush’s slow response to Hurricane Katrina in the US further dented already declining approval ratings and caused a double-digit decline in the perception of his ability to manage a crisis.
