Eduardo Tessler is a journalist with over 40 years of experience reporting on issues of social and climate justice in Brazil where civic space is obstructed. Driven by the calamitous state of the environment and the lack of care towards the protection of people and planet, Tessler partnered with Grupo A Hora, an independent media organization supported by The International Fund For Public Interest Media to kick off a project that works to ensure accountability and integrity within his community.
Here and in his own words Tessler discusses the importance of journalism in defending citizens and the environment’s rights.
I was born in Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil.
Exactly 12 days after the military launched a coup d'état that left my country under a harsh dictatorship for 21 years. I grew up in an environment of intense street repression, which shaped my character as a defender of democracy and social justice. Brazil is a vast, wealthy country, with all the makings of a paradise. But it remains absurdly imbalanced, with 1% of the population holding roughly 50% of the wealth. I was fortunate to grow up in an upper-middle-class family, where there were no problems feeding us or providing us with quality education.
I then became a journalist to change the world and promote social justice.
Today, I seek solutions for a better world through the media. I've worked as a reporter, editor, foreign correspondent, and director. I covered the war in the former Yugoslavia, the Italy 90' World Cup, and even traveled with Pope John Paul II. Later, I decided to work as a consultant for media companies, helping news outlets understand the emerging digital world. Currently, I prefer projects with a social objective such as combating news deserts — an area where there is no access to news coverage — for example, and caring for the environment.
When you're born and raised under a military dictatorship that suppresses your most basic rights…
…there are only two possibilities: submit and keep quiet, or fight for democratic reform.. From a very young age, I fought for a better Brazil. Choosing journalism was the ideal option: it allowed for activism, required a lot of reading (I've always been an avid reader), and also allowed me to see the world.
As the editor of a local leader newspaper, I took a stand with opinion pieces against the establishment of an automobile factory in my state. While the government celebrated the factory's arrival, with an eye on jobs, I led a group of people concerned about the consequences: from pollution to increased truck traffic on the roads, from river contamination to the depletion of the ozone layer. We managed to make a splash, though I received a warning from the newspaper company's shareholders — who were, it turns out, happy with the factory's arrival. Shortly thereafter, I was fired.
Journalism needs to regain its fundamental role in defending citizens.
With the wave of fake news and the emergence of thousands of small, independent outlets — many of them without clear editorial criteria and with business practices that are rarely accepted in the world of responsible journalism — good journalism becomes fundamental once again. We need to insist and insist, demonstrating the importance of good journalism every day. Activist journalism is one of the forms that best engages the audience.
Today I'm in a somewhat more comfortable situation.
My children are already working independently, and my greatest concern has become the future of humanity and my future grandchildren's life. So I work on creating projects that aim for a better world. I develop projects, find media partners, and seek funding to bring my ideas to fruition. It's true that I don't always succeed, but I focus on ideas that bring me pleasure, not just money.
"Issues of freedom, democracy, social justice, and environmental protection are non-negotiable," says Brazilian journalist Eduardo Tessler.
At the moment, I decided to create a project for reconstruction, protection, and accountability of authorities and institutions through the media. Thus, the Vale Vivo Project was born, with the A Hora Group. Vale Vivo is the project I created to address the reconstruction of the Taquari Valley—one of the regions most affected by last year's floods. It’s an app that helps audiences cope with natural phenomena that threaten the region. Basically, Vale Vivo offers live cameras showing the region's rivers, public works under reconstruction, and roads. It also provides real-time information on the investments each city receives from the federal and state governments and when they are actually invested in reconstruction.
I believe in democratic values that need to resonate with society, especially in times of the rise of the far right, including in Brazil. Issues of freedom, democracy, social justice, and environmental protection are non-negotiable. These principles must be defended under any circumstances. I commit myself like a soldier in this battle.
Recently, environmental protection laws have simply disappeared in the name of so-called "economic progress."
As a result, and with the ozone hole in my region growing uncontrollably,it has become dangerous to be exposed to the sun between certain hours, such as 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.Thus, the seasons begin to blur. It's hot in winter, summer has mild days, and other days come with temperatures far above acceptable levels.
In 2024, the absurdity [of unpredictable weather patterns] was unleashed. Suddenly, the clouds were stationary over my region. It rained for a week without stopping. The wind blew strongly in the opposite direction, impeding the natural flow of the rivers. In early May, five rivers in my state overflowed, including the Guaíba River in Porto Alegre, causing a flood greater than the historic one of 1941, as we learned about in history books. More than 180 people died, thousands were homeless. Animals were killed, crops were destroyed. We were left without an airport for seven months, without access to roads for 20 days. Stranded.
The authorities and governments proved incompetent in the face of the situation. They were unprepared, unsure of what to do. Worse, we discovered that the Porto Alegre city government had decided not to maintain the flood gates and use the money for other projects. It was a deliberate, unfortunate decision.
At that moment, I realized that my fight to defend the environment was not in vain. On the contrary, it was more than necessary.
Being an activist and journalist in Brazil is a daily challenge.
"Matar um leão por dia" (“You have to kill a lion a day”, even though I am against killing of lions) is a Brazilian expression we use to describe a huge, ongoing effort. A new challenge every day. And just when you think you've solved it, another lion (another challenge) comes along to be solved.
Media companies, in general, are fighting for economic survival. As a policy, they don't invest in reporting on environmental protection — it's an area that doesn't attract sponsors.
Politics also face moments of opposition and polarization. There are some movements in defense of the environment within government institutions, although economic issues are still a priority. Government movements for a sustainable economy and organic agriculture are rare.In the previous period, until 2022, there was no environmental protection on a ministerial or governmental level. The then-minister chose to allow any encroachment on the Amazon, any toxic product for crops, and any construction in protected areas. It was a disaster.
Defending the environment between 2019 and 2022 was very dangerous, for both activists and journalists. There were murders, lawsuits, violence, harassment. We managed to resist, each in our own way. Today, at least, we have guaranteed the right to expression, even with far-right activists venting anger and threats against us. But we are surviving and not allowing the great causes to be forgotten.
The Vale Vivo Project is extremely bold and very difficult to execute by a small media organization like Grupo A Hora.
First, it addresses flaws in the management of public institutions, such as city halls. In the countryside of the state, close ties with mayors are a reality. For the media to hold public institutions to account is not easy. Identifying those responsible for an environmental catastrophe — such as the floods of 2023 and especially the one in 2024 — is a challenge that leaves many people upset.
When we conceived Vale Vivo, we knew this. The planned infrastructure, with real-time video cameras monitoring the regions, also presented an impossible budget for A Hora.
The arrival of the International Fund For Public Interest Media (IFPIM) as a strategic partner, through the flexible core funding to the independent journalism organization A Hora, was vital to the project’s realization. Without IFPIM's support, the Vale Vivo Project would have been much more modest, possibly with much lower results. During the camera testing phase, we were able to ensure the completion of a bridge, which carries 15,000 people daily. Construction was stalled, and delivery deadlines were being systematically postponed. We set up a camera to monitor the project, which, miraculously, was completed a month later.
In journalism and activism, ideas emerge. Some are easy to execute, requiring only good faith and intelligence. But others require investment, which isn't always available from news organizations. Certainly, having funds available to implement good ideas would guarantee a better world through good journalism. An environment for exchanging ideas among activists and journalists could also be a simple and easy strategy [for bettering the world].
Find out more about The Vale Vivo Project here.You can contact Eduardo Tessler by emailing tessler@midiamundo.comor by visiting hisLinkedIn page.
This article, as narrated to Gugulethu Mhlungu, has been slightly edited for clarity. The 2025-2026 In My Own Words series is part of Global Citizen’s grant-funded content.