The victory of Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in this Sunday’s presidential election (30th) should bring Brazil closer to nations with which PT has cultivated cordial relations and enjoyed good traffic over the past few years.
Lula is already planning an international tour even before January 1st — just as he did the first time he was elected, 20 years ago. When voting this Sunday morning in São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo’s ABC region, he gave details of the plan.
“Before taking office, I also want to make trips to South American countries to re-establish an alliance and to the United States, no matter how much differences we have, we need to get closer to the United States, visit China, the European Union,” he said.
The plan, still in transition, sets the tone for the diplomatic relations of the new PT government – he defends the resumption of the motto that marked his first governments, of a “haughty and active foreign policy”, with greater prominence on the international stage and in multilateral organizations.
“I will talk with Biden, with the Germans, with the French, with the Italians, with the British, with the Japanese, with the Chinese, with the Russians, with Venezuela, with Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia , Paraguay, call everyone, give them a hug, a pat on the back. All countries need to grow together,” Lula said in a recent interview.
In the United States, Lula will find in the presidency of the greatest power in the world the same Joe Biden who was Barack Obama’s deputy when the PT left power. Despite the famous quote by Obama, who said in 2009 that Lula “is the man”, the president-elect did not have the same affinity with the Democrat that he had with his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Lula and Biden met on different occasions while the Brazilian was still in government, such as on a trip to Washington or at the 2009 Summit of Progressive Leaders in Chile, but they do not have a close relationship. During Dilma Rousseff’s administration, Biden traveled to Brazil more than once, but the relationship between Democrats and PT turned sour with the revelation that the NSA, the National Security Agency, was spying on Dilma.
Today, although sectors of the Democratic Party express relief with Bolsonaro’s defeat, the moment is different for Lula. The president-elect will find in the US a country much more concerned with the domestic scenario, struggling with rampant inflation and with Biden embittering poor ratings among voters. In addition, he won the election less than ten days before the midterms, the local legislative elections, which have mobilized the political community in the country.
The fact that today’s USA has as its main opponents Russia and China, two BRICS countries, founded in the second Lula government, in 2009, also weighs.
Despite condemning the annexation of areas of Ukraine at the United Nations, Brazil has adopted an ambiguous position on the war in Eastern Europe, without vehemently criticizing Russian leader Vladimir Putin – whom Biden calls a war criminal.
With China, Brazil’s biggest trading partner, Biden’s US maintains a trade and technology war, with mutual accusations of espionage and human rights abuses.
In Europe, the situation is more favorable to the next president of Brazil, who has good relations with the main leaders of the continent. In France, Emmanuel Macron received him with honors at the Élysée Palace last year, and the Brazilian, in turn, congratulated the Frenchman on his re-election this year.
In the first European economy, Germany, cordiality is repeated. After meeting with Lula in November of last year, Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, who had just been elected, wrote that he was very satisfied with the “good discussions” with PT and that he was “looking forward” to the continuation of the dialogue.
Scholz’s party has historic relationships with the PT and its government, an ambitious environmental agenda. “We talked about the process that is underway to form a new government and about the importance of strengthening Brazil-Germany cooperation,” Lula explained at the time.
At least two European leaders have declared their support for Lula in recent days. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said that “the world needs a strong Brazil, a Brazil that participates in the great causes of humanity, such as fighting inequality, the fight for health, to face climate change”. “Brazil and the world need Lula da Silva.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that this Sunday Brazil would choose its future. “I want to send all my support to the candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in this decisive election for a land so linked to Spain,” he said, in a video posted on social media.
A manifesto signed by several former leaders of the continent also expressed support for PT. “When democracy is in danger, it is necessary to unite the dissenters to overcome the antagonists. That is why we, former heads of state and government of different political tendencies, support the candidacy of ex-president Lula for the Presidency of the Republic” , said the document.
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