中文
By Elias Jabbour
We can say that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva played a special role in his first official visit to the United States after assuming the presidency of Brazil for the third time. It was a quick trip that took place on February 9-11. As an experienced leader of the Global South, Lula da Silva sought to establish a comfort zone in the United States, while placing limits on some concessions.
On the other hand, he deepened themes of common interest, such as that both countries suffer serious threats from political extremism and the climate issue. From a strategic point of view, Lula da Silva has a direct interest in the defeat of the extreme right in the next presidential elections in the United States. The Brazilian president is the leader of a divided country. His electoral victory took place by a very small margin of votes and a defeat of the Democratic Party in 2023 serves as encouragement for the Brazilian extreme right.
Part of the joint statement mentioned this issue: President Biden and President Lula will "continue to reject extremism and violence in politics, condemned hate speech, and reaffirmed their intention to build societal resilience to disinformation, and agreed to work together on these issues." Lula's visit was a milestone in the full restoration of relations between the two countries after his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro belatedly recognized U.S. President Joe Biden's victory.
Lula da Silva's good performance at his meeting with Biden was based on a topic where Brazil can be an international vanguard: the climate issue. Skillfully Lula da Silva ratified that rich countries should be responsible for helping finance environmental preservation in poor countries. Accordingly, it's a question of sovereignty to deal with the environmental problem in such a way that the agenda is not its use by rich countries to impede the development of poor countries. Holding countries like the United States accountable is a fundamental part of a strategy to build a dialogue based on the sovereignty of each country. The approach of the Brazilian president was objective and intelligent.
On the other hand, Biden gets a concession from the Brazilian government when they agree on a joint statement saying that there's a need for a just and durable peace in terms of the Ukraine conflict.
The question to be asked may be the reasons for this Brazilian concession. In the face of Brazilian agreement, Biden had to give in to an old Brazilian demand on the need for reform of the UN Security Council. Lula da Silva said the need for an urgent change in the policy of sanctions and embargoes against Cuba and Venezuela, just as he explained that the Brazilian plan for a lasting peace in Ukraine involves building a group of countries, not directly involved in the conflict as mediators of a peace process. Evidently, this solution does not interest Biden in the face of the immense interests of the United States in the conflict that ranges from the supply of arms to Ukraine to the weakening of German industry.
The resumption of normal relations between the two countries is of paramount importance to both countries. But Lula da Silva knows that the future of Brazil and its economy destroyed by the savage neoliberalism applied since the 2016 coup d'etat against Dilma Rousseff lies in deepening relations with other countries such as the People's Republic of China. Lula played a great game in the United States. But everyone knows that where he will feel most welcome will be in China. Lula da Silva is clear about that.
Elias Jabbour is an associate professor at the School of Economics at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
