Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a veteran of political battles, is known to the world as Lula, as his mother called him at birth. This leading personality, who took office for the third time in January 2023 after a hard duel with his formidable rival, continues to assert himself on the international scene. At the Latin America-Caribbean summit, held on January 24 in the Argentine capital, he played a leading role, proposing a number of ambitious initiatives, including proposing the creation of a single currency on. Lula therefore gave this relatively young association an additional boost of development.
At the beginning of February, in Washington, he met the current owner of the White House. The distinguished guest, representing the Latin American giant, was warmly welcomed by the hospitable host, who took into account that Brazil is a co-founder of the prestigious BRICS association, where it is listed under the first number. With the return of Lula to the presidency, this structure covering all continents, including Russia, India, China and South Africa, is gaining energy. This concept first appeared in 2001 in a report by the American investment bank Goldman & Sachs. Since then, the abbreviation, which sounds the same in Russian, Spanish and English, has received the right of citizenship, has firmly entered political science and everyday lexicon. The host of the meeting was well aware that Brazil ranks well in the world in terms of a number of economic indicators. We must now hope for an increase in the supply of agricultural products.
Leaders have a lot in common. First, they’re almost the same age, second, they’ve known each other since the days of Barack Obama, and third, both have a natural allergy to Donald Trump.
But this is a lyrical digression, based on the fact that both see an urgent need to consolidate mutual cooperation on behalf of the interests of the two largest states in the Western Hemisphere. Brazil is an important economic and commercial partner of the United States. These issues were initially at the center of the attention of the long and fruitful communication between the leaders. Issues of safety, ecology and climate preservation were also addressed. It was recalled that J. Bolsonaro, who went by the name Tropical Trump, has essentially ignored these painful issues, despite insistent pleas from many politicians, including J. Biden, to give the issue due attention. The US president expressed confidence that his counterpart will be able to attack the “lungs of the planet”, as the Amazon rainforests are called, which are on the verge of survival, and will vigorously fight the people who use this space at agricultural purposes.
The tragic joke of the situation is that the current and the former president of Brazil were in the country at the same time. One by official invitation, and the other, the intellectual mastermind of the troubles at home, causing great damage to government buildings, a fugitive from justice, looking for a safe haven. He is supported by an influential lobby that does not rule out revenge.
Lula presented the issue in such a way that he was the envoy of all of Latin America. In this regard, he raised the issue of lifting the sanctions imposed on Venezuela and Cuba, which, as you know, did not participate in the recent Summit of the Americas, held in the United States. J. Biden, unable to resist influential circles, promised to meet with representatives of these countries in the future on another platform. Lula suggested Brazil.
Such a warm welcome to the guest was due not so much to the personal sympathy of the veterans, but to the understanding of the importance of Lula as the natural leader of the whole region. But that did not rule out the existence of sharp disagreements on a number of key issues.
A kind of stumbling block lies in the fundamental differences regarding relations with China. For Brazil, it is an important geopolitical partner, including in the BRICS, which invests heavily in trade cooperation. Cooperation in the military field is set up. China’s relationship with the United States is far from painless due to high-tech competition and issues with Taiwan.
Lula, speaking with a colleague, spoke about the need to end the bloodshed in Ukraine. He offered his own services as a negotiator with neutral states – Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, South Africa and India, not directly involved in the conflict. The immediate objective is a ceasefire, then a dialogue between the belligerents. It is useless to negotiate with the American president on this issue, he is on the side of those who consider it necessary to continue supplying arms to the republic. Therefore, the Brazilian leader hopes for neutrals, he will strive for them with his inherent energy. I intend to discuss this opportunity in depth with the Chinese leader and to involve him in my project as a dynamic player, whose opinion is listened to by many. The other day, Lula reiterated his proposal on the urgent need to resolve the conflict over Ukraine through negotiations. This largely coincides with the later Chinese proposal.
The importance of the completed voyage, insufficiently covered by the world press, is also determined by the fact that it traced the vectors of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between two important players in the Western Hemisphere. Its echo will be heard far beyond the borders for a long time to be carried out by scientists and political scientists of various directions and shades.
In summary, we insist on the essentials. The brief but exceptionally eventful visit underlined that the White House is led by a personality inclined towards dialogue with Latin America and its leader Brazil, who is again led by the dynamic and optimistic politician Lula. He tries to overcome the confrontation, to smooth the angles as much as possible and at the same time not to compromise his principles, putting the interests of his own country and the world on a wounded planet first.
The guest tried to get out of the ordinary, to highlight global issues that concern humanity. He did quite well.
Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28983 of March 6, 2023
Newspaper headline: Brazil pushing hard on the world stage
