Lula defends international strategy against extreme right

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wants to propose an international strategy to confront the growth of far-right movements around the world. Lula’s idea is to bring together “democratic presidents” at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which takes place in September, in New York.

“We are living in a new period, the left-wing sectors, the progressive sectors, the democratic sectors have to organize themselves, they have to prepare themselves”, he said, this Tuesday (23), during breakfast with journalists at the Palácio do Highland. Lula stated that he has already spoken about the proposal with the presidents of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and France, Emmanuel Macron.

At a breakfast with journalists, Lula cited cases of violence and intolerance in Brazil and said that there is an established hatred that “did not exist in the country and now it has become a common thing”. The United States, a country that was once “the most fantastic mirror of democracy”.

According to the Brazilian president, today, hundreds of people are arrested in the United States for the invasion of the Capitol. On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump invaded the legislative house to try to reverse the former president’s electoral defeat.

“It was an affront to democracy, and you cannot allow the denial of institutions to prevail. Institutions that were created to maintain democracy, no matter how many defects they have, it is extremely important that they are strong. So, the United States, which was the image of respect for democracy, of respect for institutions, is the way it is,” she said.

The president recalled that, a few decades ago, South America was made up of a majority of governments “committed to the left and the thesis of a socially fair State”. “If you take South America today, you realize that there was a setback precisely because of the knowledge of the extreme right, the growth of xenophobia, the growth of racism, the persecution of minorities, the customs agenda often with retrograde issues. This gained momentum and, therefore, Brazil stands out,” he said.

The president wants to take advantage of the “optimism in diplomatic relations” with Brazil to have a “fundamental political discussion” about these movements and how to confront them.

“From what I see of information, I am considered persona non grata [que não é bem-vindo] by the extreme right around the world”, he said. “There is a very high expectation regarding Brazil and a very high expectation regarding the symbolism of the return of democracy in this country”, he said, highlighting his participation in several international forums since the beginning of his third term.

Meeting with Milei

In the conversation with journalists, Lula also commented on Brazil’s relations with South American countries, such as Argentina. On the 15th, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, received the Argentine Chancellor, Diana Mondino, on her first official visit to Brasília since the inauguration of President Javier Milei.

During the election campaign, the far-right politician even threatened to cut ties with Brazil. He and Lula have not yet met; During the Argentine’s inauguration, Brazil was represented by Chancellor Mauro Vieira.

According to Lula, Vieira received a letter from Milei, but the president still does not know the content of the document, nor whether there is interest in a meeting. “It turns out that my chancellor traveled, and I haven’t seen the letter yet, I don’t know what Milei is saying in the letter,” he said.

Itamaraty reported that, during the meeting last week, Vieira and Diana Mondino discussed topics such as physical border infrastructure, cooperation in energy and defense, improvement of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway and strengthening Mercosur and regional integration processes.