Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro has won Brazil's presidential election, which has many worrying about collapsing human rights and democracy while others are looking for opportunities.

Bolsonaro, a former military officer and seven-term congressman, has a history of making horrible sexist, racist, homophobic, and generally intolerant comments and pronouncements, and now he will have the power of the country's highest office to act on his impulses.  In some ways, the damage is already being done as attacks on LGBT people by his supporters have increased in recent weeks.

There are also worries for the environment because a big part of Bolsonaro's support comes from wealthy landowners who want to clear huge tracts of rainforest to make way for more agriculture, and for tearing apart the ground for mining projects.  Bolsonaro has pledged to slash regulations and protections for the environment and indigenous communities.

For countries and investors that feel they can stomach being in bed with what could be some dim and ugly years ahead, a Bolsonaro presidency could open new investment opportunities.

"Brazil is in the unique position of having a lot of land left that could be turned into farmland," said Anna Prusa to Canada's CBC News.  The former US State Department official who is with the Washington, DC-based Wilson Center think tank added, "We expect production to increase in Brazil."

Environmentalists would argue that Brazil is already the world's biggest supplier of soybeans and further degradation of the rainforest will lead to environmental collapse, but that's only one threat to/opportunity in the region.

"It could be a good time to be a mining investor in Brazil," said Ms. Prusa, "Bolsonaro has said pretty publicly he would like fewer restrictions."

A sign of how fast the brakes will come off of environmental protections will come with how much power will go to Paulo Guedes, Bolsonaro's chief economic adviser.  Guedes holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago,and has been pushing for more privatizations across Brazil's state-dominated, highly regulated economy.