Lula and Sánchez celebrate the end of Bolsonaro: "Brazil is back, now it will rebuild what the ultra-right destroyed"

Pedro Sánchez is almost as euphoric as Lula Da Silva over the victory of the historic Brazilian union leader and the defeat of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

The two presidents, in a joint appearance at La Moncloa, have repeated the same phrase several times: "Brazil has returned."

It is Lula's first European trip since his victory, and Sánchez wanted to take the opportunity to claim that Brazil is returning to multilateralism and defending the fight against climate change.

“Brazil has returned, it is a global power that for years has been self-absorbed.

Nobody can imagine responding to the climate emergency challenge without Brazil, for example”, Sánchez congratulated himself.

“I have come to Spain to say that Brazil has returned, we were isolated for almost six years but we have returned.

And now we are going to rebuild everything that the extreme right destroyed in four years.

We have a lot of work to put the house in order, but we will achieve it”, Lula concluded.

The two presidents have exhibited social democratic harmony, and the same vision of the world, especially in the economy, but also an evident discrepancy in the way of dealing with the war in Ukraine.

Lula has made it very clear that he is against sending arms to Ukraine, as Spain is doing, although he has admitted that Brazil's position is more comfortable than that of the Europeans because while the EU borders Russia -in the Baltic countries- Brazil is 14,000 kilometers away.

Lula wants to lead a group of mediating countries, and he has said that he would be delighted that Spain is in them, but it seems difficult given the great discrepancy that exists between Brasilia and Madrid, especially when it comes to sending weapons to help Kiev and even in the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Lula, annoyed by some questions about Brazil's position, has insisted that his country has always condemned the Russian invasion.

But he complains that no country seems to be working for peace, as he wants to do.

And while Sánchez openly says that Crimea is Ukraine, Lula leaves it up in the air.

"I am not the one who has to decide whose Crimea belongs to", he has answered an express question.

“It is the Russians and the Ukrainians who have to decide.

First they have to stop the war and then we start talking.

People are dying.

First stop and then discuss what Crimea is or what role NATO has."

Lula has not openly said that he has asked Sánchez to stop sending weapons - "Spain is sovereign to make that decision", he has insisted - but he has made it clear that it is not his position.

In fact, she has explained that he stopped an arms sale to Germany because he understood that he could then sell them to Ukraine.

“I stopped that sale.

Brazil does not want to enter the war, it wants to enter a zone of peace.

I hope it is clear because in all countries they ask me the same question ”, he finished, clearly annoyed by the criticism of his position.

Lula has offered a vision of the multilateralist world, very different from Bolsonaro's, but one that disputes the primacy of the US and approaches China, which is increasingly influential in Latin America.

Sánchez has promoted a meeting in Brussels in July of the regional summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC), the first since 2015, to which Lula has confirmed her attendance.

He has promoted it, among other things so that the EU can regain weight in this region and not let China occupy all the space.

And for that, Sánchez and Lula have agreed, it is essential to close the EU-Mercosur agreement already this year, something that the Spaniard wants to promote in the semester of the Spanish presidency.

“Brazil and Spain share that the cornerstone for building this link is Mercosur.

There are few arguments why such an agreement cannot be reached.

Europe needs allies.

We are going to work to overcome the resistance [of France]”, Sánchez concluded.

Lula wants to completely turn Bolsonaro's administration around.

Through presidential decree, she has relaunched programs such as Bolsa Família (against poverty), Minha Casa Minha Vida (housing) or Mais Médicos (health care in underserved areas).

And that is why she has taken advantage of the appearance to vindicate progressive policies in Brazil and in the world.

Sánchez, who was listening to him enthusiastically, has also claimed his own and has compared them, although with the great social and economic differences between the two countries.

Sánchez has especially boasted of his policies to reduce inequality, the 45,000 million that he has put on the table to alleviate the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and especially the latest announcements on public housing.

The Government continues without offering details about the 20,000 homes that will be built on Defense land, for which there is still no location, but Sánchez has made it very clear that they will be spread throughout Spain.

“Defensa has properties throughout Spain, so there will be public housing throughout Spain.

We will give the location when it is approved by the Council of Ministers”.

Sánchez has also taken advantage of the appearance to ask employers to sit down to negotiate with the unions for a salary increase to correct the loss of purchasing power due to inflation.

“We are seeing corporate profits grow above workers' income.

We have assumed our responsibility, the bosses have to assume theirs", concluded the Spanish president, visibly satisfied with a visit that refers to his own political agenda and his battle to convince voters that the left governs the economy better and the right and the extreme right are a danger to the income of the majority of citizens.

Consult the joint declaration of the president of Brazil and Spain.

If you can't read it click here

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