The 77-year-old former metal worker, who actually ruled Brazil from 2003 to 2010, wants to put his country back at the center of global geopolitics, and has been trying to play a tightrope walker since the start of his tenure. He traveled to Washington in February to meet at the White House with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, and recently visited China, Brazil’s largest trading partner.
under fire from critics
But the icon of the Latin American left sparked heated debate when he told Beijing that the US should stop “encouraging war” in Ukraine and that the EU should “start talking about peace”. His words were sharply criticized by Washington, which accused him of “echoing Russian and Chinese propaganda.”
The Brazilian leader also reaffirmed that the responsibilities for the war triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 were shared between the two countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who received him in Brasilia on Monday, thanked Brazil for its “contribution” to the search for a solution to the conflict.
Under fire, Lula changed his tune on Tuesday by condemning Russia’s “violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity”. Representatives of the Ukrainian community met on Friday evening with members of the Brazilian delegation present in Lisbon, and Lula decided to send his main foreign policy advisor, Celso Amorim, to Kiev to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a statement, Brasília affirmed that “Brazil is determined to contribute to promoting dialogue and peace and ending this conflict.”
Rapprochement between “brother countries”
The “brotherly countries” want to celebrate their new rapprochement, and on the occasion of the Brazilian Luso summit that will be held on Saturday afternoon, the first in seven years, twelve bilateral agreements will be signed, mainly in the field of energy, science, education and tourism.
On Monday, after a meeting with entrepreneurs near Porto (North), Lula will co-present the Cammons Prize to the famous Brazilian singer and writer Chico Buarque, the highest honor in Lusophone literature.
