Even from abroad, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to make it clear that he is campaigning to take over the reins of his country. Before meeting this Wednesday Emmanuel Macron, the former Brazilian president accused the current head of state Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday in Paris of “destroying” Brazil.
“The country is being destroyed, the country needs to be rebuilt,” said Lula, 76, who assured Monday that he was “ready” to run for the presidential election in October 2022, for which he is given big favorite against the current president. “It is the Brazilian people who will be able to democratically dismiss [Bolsonaro]. That’s enough, basta. This country deserves better, ”he continued to the applause of 400 people who came to listen to him at Sciences Po Paris.
Brazil is diplomatically isolated, says Lula
“This government has put Brazil at the back of the world and it is the Brazilian people who suffer from it”, he criticized again, denouncing “the political and diplomatic isolation of Brazil”. “Nobody invests in Brazil”, continued Lula, because Jair Bolsonaro “is rude with women, does not like blacks, burns the forest, because he is violent towards the indigenous people”.
The official announcement of Lula’s candidacy is eagerly awaited since he became eligible again following a Supreme Court decision overturning his convictions for corruption for a technicality. If the former trade unionist shows up, it will be his sixth presidential campaign, in an attempt to run for a third term after leading the country from 2003 to 2010.
Discussions around the free trade treaty
Lula is doing a European tour this week through Brussels, Berlin, Paris and Madrid. Before Emmanuel Macron, he spoke on Monday with Olaf Scholz, the probable future German chancellor. The ex-president also announced a discussion with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The objective of these meetings is “the future of an agreement between the EU and Latin America”, he explained, without however citing the free trade treaty concluded in June 2019, after twenty years of negotiations between Europe and the four Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay).
“We do not want to simply export soybeans, corn or iron mineral,” he regretted. Latin America wants to “industrialize” and “export manufactured products with more added value”. Negotiated by the European Commission, this treaty will not be ratified until it has been ratified by the parliaments of the 27 member states. Some countries, including France and Germany, are reluctant to do so, doubting in particular Brazil’s commitment to protecting the environment, deforestation and fires having multiplied in the Amazon under Jair Bolsonaro.