The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, met this Friday at the White House with President Joe Biden to strengthen the bilateral relationship on common issues, including democracy and the preservation of the environment.
The meeting between the leaders took place after Brazil suffered a strong attack on democratic institutions with the assault of radicalized opponents on the Government House, Congress and the Supreme Court on January 8, an episode that resonated enormously in the United States. who had suffered an attack on the Capitol two years earlier.
Both had also been challenged as election winners by their respective rivals.
These facts united the leaders in highlighting the democratic order and respect for institutions.
The message within Brazil and the United States was evident.
“Our strong democracies have been put to the test
,” Biden said in the Oval Office with Lula.
And he added:
"Democracy triumphed."
“We must continue to defend democracy,
democratic values, which is the central point of our strength,” Biden added.
"This is an important moment for both countries, in my view, and for the world."
In Portuguese, Lula said he was "repositioning Brazil in the new world geopolitics because Brazil has been isolating itself in the last four years."
Without mentioning Bolsonaro, he said: "
The last president did not like to have international relations with any country
. His world started and ended with fake news in the morning, noon and night."
That the Brazilian has sat in the Oval Office just 6 weeks after taking office is an important gesture by the Biden government,
which sees Lula as a new ally.
Meanwhile, the Democrat
has not rescheduled the invitation he had made to President Alberto Fernández,
in July of last year, which was suspended because the Democratic leader had Covid.
It was never scheduled again, although Ambassador Jorge Argüello does not lose hope that it will ever come to fruition.
The United States and Brazil seek to ease tensions
after the icy bond between the countries when Jair Bolsonaro was in power.
"Brazilians like peace, democracy, carnival, samba and joy," Biden now said.
The meeting alone in the Oval Office lasted 50 minutes, beyond the 15 scheduled.
Then they went to an extended meeting, with officials from the two countries.
The United States sees Lula as the ideal interlocutor
against more radicalized options in the hemisphere.
The Brazilian wants Washington to contribute to the Amazon Fund, like other countries, and also that there be firm support from the US for Brazil's entry into the OECD.
Exit.
Lula da Silva part of Blair House, the official guest house in front of the White House (Reuters)
Lula arrived accompanied by his wife Rosángela and a delegation of officials to the mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue and only had to cross the street because he had spent the night at the "Blair house", the official residence for visitors that is located just opposite.
Biden was waiting for them with his aviator glasses, on a sunny afternoon.
In the Oval Office, Lula said that they had
"several issues to work on together"
and mentioned: "First, never allow a new chapter of the attack on the Capitol and that what happened in Brazil should never happen. The second is that we have to work together on issues of inequality and race".
As a third point, he pointed out
climate change
: "In recent years, the forests and the Amazon have been invaded by an irrational, inhumane policy, because we had a president who sent people to deforest, who sent illegal gold seekers who entered indigenous reserves." .
He said that he would do everything possible to make the Amazon a
"sanctuary for humanity."
"I can reassure you and the rest of the world that you can count on Brazil in the fight for democracy and the preservation of the Amazon,"
emphasized the Brazilian.
The meeting also discussed production and trade.
The White House previously said that "Brazil is a key partner of the United States in the region and a key ally as we seek to work together to address common challenges in the region and the world, including combating climate change, stimulating development economy, the strengthening of democracy, the promotion of human rights and the inclusion and management of irregular migration”.
Meeting.
Lula da Silva greets the representative for New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in Washington (AFP)
Ukraine is another topic of common interest.
In fact, shortly before meeting with Lula, Biden announced that he would travel to Poland on February 20 for the anniversary of the war, a way of confirming his firm support for President Zelensky.
Before going to the White House, Lula gave an interview with CNN in which he said that the invasion of the Russian troops in Ukraine was something "wrong" and that he offered to find a way for the war to end.
He expressed that “it is logical that Ukraine has the right to defend itself because the invasion was a mistake by Russia, it should not have done that.
Russia is a member of the (UN) Security Council," he declared. And he said that now it was "need to find people to try to settle the situation. I know that Brazil is not very important on the international stage, within the perverse logic of world conflicts. But I can say that I am going to dedicate myself to finding the path to peace," added the ruler."
Before the meeting with Biden, Lula met in the morning with Democratic parliamentarians, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and with union representatives.
She returns to Brazil on Saturday morning.