Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that he found Bolivia in a “more difficult” situation than a decade ago and announced a “new era in the bilateral relationship,” with political and economic support for President Luis Arce after the failed coup attempt two weeks ago.
Lula arrived in Bolivia on Monday night after 15 years without visiting the country and the Bolivia’s incorporation into the Mercosur bloc the day before with the support of Brazil. The last time was in 2009 when Evo Morales (2006-2019) was president.
The Brazilian president then promoted trade and bilateral business, but relations cooled under Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) and then under Jair Bolsonaro.
“This is why I am here in Bolivia, to say that Bolivia will be what it wants to be, whatever it wants to be. What we must do is ensure, first, political stability, then fiscal, economic, legal and social stability,” said Lula at the end of a business forum.
Shortly before, upon arriving in Santa Cruz, the economic engine of Bolivia, he mentioned that according to his perception “the situation in Bolivia is more difficult than it was ten years ago. There are no (gas) reserves that there were and the GDP has not grown as it had been doing.”
Lula left Bolivia on Tuesday night after chairing a binational cabinet meeting with his Bolivian counterpart and a meeting with social movements.
Following the meetings, Arce and Lula signed a dozen cooperation agreements in the fight against drug trafficking and migrant smuggling; in electricity, fertilizer trade, health support, mining and in combating forest fires in the Pantanal, one of the largest wetlands in the world located on their common border.
For his part, Arce thanked his Brazilian counterpart for his support of democracy, calling him “a guiding president in the region” and asked him to join forces for greater cooperation in agriculture “in the face of the climate crisis and the food crisis that are simultaneously punishing the world.”
Lula publicly expressed his support for Arce after the failed coup attempt on June 26, which led to strong friction with Argentine President Javier Milei. The Argentine government called the coup claim a farce, which also caused a rift between La Paz and Buenos Aires.
He also said that “Bolivia cannot fall into the trap of coups d’état again.”
Brazil is the fifth largest economy and the third largest consumer of natural gas in the world, and Bolivia is one of its suppliers of this energy, although sales volumes have fallen. But it is also interested in increasing the volumes that Argentina will stop buying when the contract with that country expires before the end of the year, according to the Brazilian ambassador in La Paz, Luiz Henrique Sobreira.
Lula mentioned that the Brazilian oil company Petrobras is considering investing in gas exploration. “I know the importance that Petrobras had in Bolivia and it can continue to be important,” he said, “in prospecting and investment research.”
Brazil, particularly under Lula as president, has previously expressed support for political stability in Bolivia. During his first term in office, he mediated Bolivia’s governability crises in 2008 when then-President Evo Morales faced an onslaught from the wealthy province of Santa Cruz seeking regional autonomy.
For Arce, the alliance with the Brazilian government can help boost the Bolivian economy, whose deterioration is causing a growing climate of social unrest due to rising costs of living.
Brazil is also Bolivia’s second largest trading partner, with annual purchases worth more than $2 billion, mainly gas.
For Brazil, Bolivia is a strategic neighbor not only as a source of raw materials but also in the fight against Brazilian, Bolivian and Peruvian mafias that traffic cocaine, marijuana and other illicit products across an extensive border of 3,400 kilometers of jungles and rivers.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Add Comment