President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met this Friday (18th), in Lisbon, with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the Prime Minister of the country, António Costa. The meeting took place after Lula visited the 27th United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), in Egypt. After the private meeting, Lula and Costa spoke to the press. The president-elect assured that his government will resume dialogue with all countries. “It had been four years since Brazil was completely isolated from the world. No country that has suffered blockade in these last 30 years has had the isolation that Brazil has had due to the Brazilian government itself. It was not the world that isolated Brazil, it was Brazil that isolated itself. isolated,” he said.
Lula also called for changes in global governance, including a reform of the UN Security Council, to make it more representative, in the president-elect’s view.
“I have argued that we need a more representative global governance. Especially on the climate issue, we cannot make a decision and then take it to the national State to decide whether to comply with it or not. Kyoto Protocol, which was signed a long time ago, until today has not been complied with by many countries. The UN of today cannot remain the UN of 1948. The world has changed, geopolitics has changed, people have changed, culture has changed and , therefore, the UN Security Council needs to change. It needs to have more people representing all continents and put an end to the idea that countries can have the right of veto”, he emphasized.
Regarding the new government’s environmental commitments, Lula highlighted the fight against illegal mining and illegal invasions of reserves, with the preservation of indigenous lands and conservation units. “We are going to take care of the climate issue, take care of the Amazon as a heritage of humanity”, he guaranteed, mentioning the suggestion for Brazil to hold the COP30, in 2025, in the Amazon Region.
fiscal responsibility
Questioned by journalists about the public accounts of the new government, after oscillations in the financial market due to measures announced by the transition team – such as the proposal to exclude Bolsa Família from the spending cap rule – Lula listed the achievements of his two previous terms (2003-2010) and said he is committed to Brazilians, especially the poorest.
“At the end of my government, inflation was 4.5%, our debt had fallen from 60.5% to 37.7%, Brazil had paid its debt to the IMF [o Fundo Monetário Internacional] and loaned $15 billion to the IMF. And Brazil had made a reserve of US$ 370 billion, which is what sustains Brazil until today. No one has the authority to talk about fiscal policy with me, because during my entire period in government, I was the only G20 country that had a primary surplus”, he sentenced.
“I’m going to take care of these people like no one else has ever taken care of, I’m going to make them smile again, raise the minimum wage every year and create jobs in this country. I was elected to take care of 215 million Brazilians, especially the most needy people,” he added.
After the international tour, the president-elect should resume the government transition agenda next week, in Brazil, when he begins to analyze names to compose his ministerial team.
