Lula seeks in Europe more cooperation and to calm the differences on Ukraine

First modification: 04/24/2023 – 23:15

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is making his first European tour of this new term as president of Brazil and will land in Spain after a first stop in Portugal over the weekend, where he qualified his comments on the war in Ukraine that earned him criticism from the international community.

The objective of Spain and Brazil are the same, officials from both foreign ministries advanced: to relaunch the bilateral relationship between the two countries after the pause that the right-wing Jair Bolsonaro put on foreign policy and despite the methodological differences in the search for peace for Ukraine.

With this visit to Spain, it is hoped that several agreements will be signed between both parties. Nations seek commercial, political, and cultural alliances. Brazil would serve, according to Spanish sources, as a link to Latin America. Spain will assume the semi-annual community presidency on July 1, and Brazil the presidency of Mercosur.

Lula qualifies his position regarding Ukraine

During his visit to Portugal, Lula avoided commenting on the conflict in Eastern Europe and limited himself to qualifying his previous notes. “My country made the decision to condemn Russia for the occupation of space and the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine long ago, in the first days, and we have voted in the UN in this regard,” he said.

“I have never equaled both countries, because I know what an invasion is and what territorial integrity is. And all of us think that Russia is wrong and we already condemn it in all UN decisions,” the Brazilian reiterated.

But his stance on the conflict has shifted in recent weeks. The controversy began when he said that both Ukraine and Russia decided to go to war, and that the United States was “stimulating” the conflict by sending arms. Earlier, he had commented that Ukraine should cede Crimea, the region Russia took over in 2014, to end the war, drawing the fury of Ukraine, the United States and the European Union.

Guilherme Casarões, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a Saoc-based think tank, mediated the bitter pill caused by his confused stance on the war.

“It could be an important step for Lula to show that he is really willing to adopt a position of balance or equidistance between the parties involved in the conflict, which could allow Brazil to play the role of mediator in the medium term,” Casarões commented.

Lula proposes creating a “club” of countries that serve as mediators in the conflict and have no direct impact on it, but so far the proposal has not taken shape.

Trade is high on the agenda. Brazil is pressing for the agreement between the EU and the South American bloc Mercosur to begin to be implemented. The deal, signed in 2019, has not yet entered into force due to the refusal of some countries in both Europe and Mercosur.

Portugal offers itself as the “spearhead” to speed up the EU-Mercosur agreement

The socialist António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal, offered today as a “spearhead” to speed up the EU-Mercosur agreement. “The EU-Mercosur agreement is absolutely strategic,” he commented in front of Lula during the inauguration of the bilateral business forum in Matosinhos, Porto.

“Brazil can always count on Portugal as the spearhead to work on the conclusion, as quickly as possible, of the EU-Mercosur agreement,” insisted Costa.

“Portugal is an ally of Brazil within the European Union and can serve as a platform for Brazil to defend its position in the context of these negotiations,” commented analyst Casarões.

For his part, the Brazilian president stressed that “Brazil is ready to return to being a large, important country, to be an attractive country and wants to build association policies.”

“We do not want hegemonic relations with anyone, we want to build an association with Portuguese companies” and “promote cooperation geared towards the future, technologies, renewables, urban mobility and health,” Lula commented.

In Portugal, Lula announced the signing of 13 bilateral agreements, which include the cooperation of the Brazilian and Portuguese space agencies. Before traveling to Madrid on Tuesday, the Brazilian took part in the awards ceremony in honor of the famous Brazilian musician Chico Buarque.

Buarque received the most prestigious literary prize in the Portuguese language, which has been awarded to authors such as José Saramago and Mozambican Paulina Chiziane, although the ceremony was postponed four years due to an impasse with former President Jair Bolsonaro who refused to award it.

“His four years of disastrous government lasted an eternity. Time seemed to be running backwards”, commented Buarque, awarded by the presidents of Brazil and Portugal.

With EFE and AP