Climate Emergency, the New Reality

The cracked ground along one of the tributaries of the Solimões River in the city of Manaquiri, in the interior of the state of Amazonas, denounced one of the worst droughts in the region's history in 2023, placing the climate emergency in the harsh reality of that population.

Photo: Reuters/Suamy Beydoun

A Nod to Victory

Former president Lula at a rally in the city of Diadema, in the greater São Paulo area, during the 2022 election campaign.

Photo: Reuters/Suamy Beydoun

Electoral Motorcycle Ride

Then-president Jair Bolsonaro during a motorcade with supporters in the city of Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo, in an attempt to be re-elected for another term in the 2022 presidential elections.

Photo: Reuters/Suamy Beydoun

Interfaith Act, Justice for Bruno and Dom

An interfaith act for justice was held at the Sé Metropolitan Cathedral in the city of São Paulo, in memory of indigenist Bruno Pereira and journalist Dom Philips, who were murdered on June 5, 2022 in the Vale do Javari region in the state of Amazonas. The act was attended by Beatriz de Almeida Matos, Bruno's widow, and Alessandra Sampaio, Dom's widow, amid all the commotion of the case that shocked Brazil and the world.

Photo: Reuters/Suamy Beydoun

Virginijus Sinkevicius

European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius, during a meeting at the French Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo.

Photo: Reuters/Suamy Beydoun

The Rio Branco has dried up

A man walks along a sandbank formed by the drying out of the Rio Branco, the main river that cuts through the city of Boa Vista, capital of the state of Roraima in northern Brazil, which faced one of the worst droughts in its history in 2024.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Fire in Mooca

A military firefighter runs through an evacuated street covered in smoke, during a major fire that hit a textile factory in the Mooca neighborhood in the city of São Paulo.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Green Resistance

A neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of Manaus is gradually advancing over a portion of forest that is still preserved, resisting human action in the region.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Fare Increase, Conflict in the Center

Protesters taking part in a demonstration against the increase in public transport fares clashed with the military police in central São Paulo in January 2016. The conflict lasted into the night and spread to several areas in the central region.

Photo: Futura Press/Suamy Beydoun

The Anhembi field hospital

The Anhembi field hospital in São Paulo was one of the largest in Brazil, designed to treat COVID-19 during the acute phase of the pandemic, with around 1,800 beds. The photo of the man in hospital, alone and in a serious condition, was a snapshot of many Brazilians who were victims of the disease that devastated the country.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Faith in Aparecida

Reflection of devotees of Our Lady of Aparecida, patron saint of Brazil, touching the wall where the saint is displayed at the top. Every year millions of people visit the shrine dedicated to the saint in the city of Aparecida, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, considered the largest Catholic temple in Brazil and the second largest in the world, second only to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Alcântara Machado Viaduct

Two men talk amidst the wreckage of a fire that took place under the Alcântara Machado Viaduct, on the east side of the city of São Paulo. The fire damaged the viaduct and destroyed shacks housing some of the families living there.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Smoke returns to Manaus

At the beginning of August 2024, the smoke coming from the fires in the interior of the state of Amazonas began to invade the capital, Manaus. With the winds blowing towards the city, it is possible to see several regions in the background, with an intense layer of smoke, worsening the situation as the days go by.

Photo: AFP/Suamy Beydoun

Historic elections in São Paulo

The then candidate for mayor of the city of São Paulo, Guilherme Boulos, of the Socialism and Freedom Party, popularly known as PSOL, voted on October 6, 2024 during the first round of the municipal elections, in one of the most hotly contested elections in the history of São Paulo. Hours later, at the end of the vote count, Boulos was confirmed to be running in the second round against the city's current mayor.

Photo: Suamy Beydoun/ Especial Metrópoles

Pelé Museum

The Pelé Museum in the city of Santos, on the coast of the state of São Paulo, is dedicated exclusively to telling the story of the career of the greatest soccer player of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or Pelé, or King Pelé (1940-2023). With a rich collection divided into 4 floors, ranging from documents to shirts worn by the athlete, his career with Santos Futebol Clube, and his time with the Cosmos of New York, as well as the history of each of the three World Cups won with the Brazilian national soccer team.

Photo: DPA/Suamy Beydoun

The Tarumã Açu, dried up

The Tarumã Açu river, which is part of the Rio Negro basin and the main tributary in the Amazon capital, is still suffering the effects of the record drought of 2024, with areas that have dried up completely and others that are less than 1 meter deep, preventing large and medium-sized boats from navigating, affecting the economy and people's lives in the region.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Side Effects of Drought

Due to the record drought on the Madeira River, among other problems, a kilometric queue of trucks has formed on the BR-319 highway in the municipality of Careiro da Várzea in the interior of the state of Amazonas. The truckers spent more than 8 days trying to board the ferries to the capital Manaus, but due to the weight, the excess of trucks and the lack of organization in the administration of the ferries, the process became extremely slow, contributing to the increase in the queue and consequently the days of waiting.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Modern Manaus Port

With the receding waters of the Rio Negro due to the record drought of 2024, a large boat engine has resurfaced on the long strip of sand at the Manaus Moderna Port, one of the busiest public ports in the city of Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas.

Photo: AGIF/Suamy Beydoun

Unicef Brazil Ambassador

Unicef Brazil ambassador and digital influencer Thaynara Oliveira Gomes (Thaynara OG) during a visit to the city of Manaus in October 2023 with the Unicef Brazil team. Thaynara saw up close the effects of that year's record drought in the city of Manaus and felt the thick layer of smoke from the fires in the region. She visited projects managed and supported by UNICEF and intensely debated urgent solutions to mitigate the impact of the drought on families living in communities where the scarcity of drinking water is already a cruel reality.

Photo: UNICEF/BRZ/Suamy Beydoun