President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) takes office this Sunday (1st) in a ceremony that will be accompanied by more than 60 foreign delegations, in a sign of prestige on the part of the international community after the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) became marked by clashes with traditional partners in the country.
At least 17 heads of state and government are expected, with a significant participation of leaders from South America and CPLP countries (Community of Portuguese Language Countries).
A traditional ally of PT, Argentine Alberto Fernández will travel to Brasília and return to Buenos Aires on the same day. Representatives of the new wave of the left that won recent elections in the region, presidents Gabriel Boric (Chile) and Gustavo Petro (Colombia) should also attend the inauguration.
The center-right Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou, in turn, included in the delegation two former presidents, from different currents: Julio María Sanguinetti (1985-1990 and 1995-2000) and José Pepe Mujica (2010-2015). According to the Uruguayan embassy, the gesture “embodies the deep bonds of friendship and the solid and historic ties existing between Uruguay and Brazil”.
Also a Mercosur partner, Paraguay will be represented by President Mario Abdo Benítez, one of Bolsonaro’s main regional allies in recent years.
With the deposition of Pedro Castillo after an attempted coup d’état in Peru, the Andean country should have the delegation led by Prime Minister Alberto Otárola, not by President Dina Boluarte. Averse to international travel, the Mexican Andrés Manuel López Obrador chose his wife, Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, as an envoy to Brasilia.
The list of heads of state may still undergo changes, since the Bolsonaro government revoked on Friday (30) an ordinance that prohibited the entry into Brazil of high authorities of the Venezuelan dictatorship. This opened the possibility for Nicolás Maduro to travel to the inauguration of Lula, his former ally. Although likely, the presence is still not fully confirmed, due to difficulties in organizing a last-minute trip.
In comparison with Bolsonaro’s inauguration, in 2019, Lula achieved a more expressive attendance of foreign authorities. There were 11 heads of state or government at the time, with emphasis on ultra-right leaders with whom the president who is now leaving office sought alignment: the Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu —who, coincidentally, has just returned to power— , and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Israel’s representation, this time, will be through a special envoy.
Bolsonaro also had in his inauguration the presence of the then American Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, in a sign of prestige of the president at the time, Donald Trump. The Brazilian declared himself, even before being elected, an admirer of the republican and made alignment with Washington a priority in his foreign policy.
This time, the US mission will be headed by Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland. Joe Biden was expected to send Vice President Kamala Harris or Secretary of State Antony Blinken. One of the points considered, according to interlocutors, is that Lula should pay a visit to Washington at the beginning of his term, when he should have meetings with the Democrat and other authorities.
Another change compared to 2019 is that Bolsonaro gave an order that year for the regimes of Venezuela and Cuba to be disinvited from the solemnities – the tradition is that invitations are sent to all countries with which Brazil maintains diplomatic relations.
This year, in addition to the effort for Maduro to be present, the transitional government obtained confirmation that the Cuban delegation will be led by Salvador Valdés, deputy of leader Miguel Díaz-Canel.
In Europe, a continent that should be a priority for Lula’s foreign policy, three countries appointed heads of state, but whose positions are mostly ceremonial: Portugal, with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; Spain, with King Philip VI, and Germany, with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
France, whose president, Emmanuel Macron, received Lula in Paris in 2021, before the election, will have its delegation headed by Minister Olivier Becht (Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Citizens Abroad).
LEADERS WHO HAVE ALREADY CONFIRMED THEIR PRESENCE IN LULA’S POSSESSION
- Alberto Fernandez, President of Argentina
- Chan Santokhi, President of Suriname
- Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe
- Felipe VI, King of Spain
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany
- Gabriel Boric, President of Chile
- Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador
- Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia
- João Lourenço, President of Angola
- José Maria Neves, President of Cape Verde
- José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor
- Luis Arce, President of Bolivia
- Luis Lacalle Pou, President of Uruguay
- Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal
- Mario Abdo Benitez, President of Paraguay
- Rodrigo Chaves, President of Costa Rica
- Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of Guinea-Bissau
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