First modification:
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won the Brazilian presidential elections against current President Jair Bolsonaro. Twelve years after leaving the presidency, his election will allow him to resume ties with Africa, which were at their lowest point during Bolsonaro’s mandate. In an opinion piece published in the French newspaper Le Monde Last Friday, three days before his victory, Lula said that his government’s priority would be to “reestablish relations with the African continent,” especially in terms of ecology.
Jair Bolsonaro has not yet conceded defeat, but Lula da Silva has already been congratulated by several of his counterparts on the African continent, such as Macky Sall in Senegal, Cyril Ramaphosa in South Africa, and Umaro Sissoco Embalo in Guinea-Bissau.
Towards better relationships
With Lula’s return to power in Brazil, the ties between Brazil and Africa should improve, whereas under Bolsonaro they had become almost non-existent. On the economic front, in 2019, a year after the far-right president came to power, trade between Africa and Brazil fell to its lowest level. The outgoing president did not travel to the continent once, preferring to deal with the countries of the North.
Lula, for his part, had opened 30 embassies during his term between 2003 and 2011. The icon of the left visited 29 African countries, and not only the Portuguese-speaking ones: he was in Algeria, Benin and Ghana, among others.
For the next four years, observers foresee the return of Brazilian companies to Africa, cooperation on environmental issues and health issues.
“The DRC as a possible partner”
The response to the climate emergency is one of Lula da Silva’s campaign promises. This is good news for Africa, one of the continents most affected by global warming. She should allow various African leaders to cooperate with Brazil.
“Given the importance of the Amazon in the preservation of biodiversity, in the fight against global warming, having a president committed to environmental issues is something very important for African countries. I think that Lula, as he did when he was president , is someone who will defend the interests of developing countries, especially those in Africa, especially in the major international climate conferences, precisely so that the countries of the North can finance ecological transition and sustainability programs in the poorest countries, and in particular in African countries. From this point of view, I believe that Lula’s arrival at the Planalto Palace is good news for Africans,” estimates Gaspard Estrada, a researcher specializing in Latin America and executive director of the Political Observatory of Latin America. America and the Caribbean of Sciences Po in Paris.
“Lula’s campaign team explicitly mentioned the DRC as a possible partner for international climate diplomacy initiatives. There was even a Workers’ Party mission that visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a view to COP 27, which will take place within And from that point of view, I think that when Lula takes office as president from January 1, there will be other diplomatic initiatives, especially on environmental issues, that Brazil and African countries, including the DRC, will be able to work on. together”, continues the expert.
The truth, according to Estrada, is that “now Lula will have to stand firm against the agribusiness community, which tends to capitalize on Bolsonaro’s anti-environmental policies. And from this point of view, firm commitments are expected from the new president to preserve the Amazon.” .
