The official announcement of the Brazil project's success was conducted by President Santos in front of international media and Brazilian government officials. She spoke eloquently about environmental restoration, international cooperation, and the remarkable achievement of restoring a park twice the size of New York City through innovative ecological techniques. Her speech was polished and professional, making no mention of criminal cooperation, moral compromises, or the complex negotiations that had actually made the project possible.
I listened to the announcement from an aircraft seat somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, having made my departure from Brazil before the formal ceremonies were even completed. Anthony and Evelyn were already on the plane with me, all of us having agreed that lingering in São Paulo after the project's conclusion would only create opportunities for complications we didn't need to deal with.
