President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again criticized the continuation of the war in Gaza and the global resistance to creating a Palestinian state. The statement was made this Saturday (25), during the ceremony to receive the title of doctor “Honoris Causa” in Philosophy and International Development of the Global South from the National University of Malaysia, in Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia.
“University communities around the world have raised their voices against the brutality of the genocide in Gaza and against the moral inertia that prevents the creation of the Palestinian State to this day. It is almost always young people who remind us that peace is humanity’s most precious value”, he said.
President Lula stated that the increase in tariffs on trade between countries cannot be adopted as mechanisms of international coercion. “Nations that do not bow to colonialism and the Cold War dichotomy will not be intimidated by irresponsible threats,” he said, without mentioning United States President Donald Trump, who increased import tariffs on Brazilian products by 50% in early August.
Multilateralism
By defending multilateralism and the need for changes in international organizations, President Lula highlighted the role of the Global South on the international stage for justice and overcoming inequalities.
FEATURED PHRASE
“The defense of an order based on dialogue, diplomacy and the sovereign equality of nations is at the heart of the Brazilian proposal to reform the United Nations, which without greater representation the Security Council will remain inoperative and incapable of responding to the challenges of our time.”
In the economic field, the Brazilian president considers it unacceptable that rich countries have nine times more voting power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) than the Global South, a term referring to a group of countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, with a history of colonialism and that share economic and social inequalities.
Lula added that protectionism and the paralysis of the World Trade Organization (WTO) impose a situation of unsustainable asymmetry for the Global South. “It is time to disrupt the mechanisms that have supported financing for the developed world for centuries at the expense of emerging developing economies.”
For the president, the global financial structure must direct resources towards the sustainable development of emerging nations. “We cannot envision a different world without questioning a neoliberal model that deepens inequalities: 3 thousand billionaires have earned US$6.5 trillion since 2015. This figure exceeds Asean’s current nominal GDP [Associação de Nações do Sudeste Asiático] and Brazil combined.”
Agenda
President Lula will remain in Malaysia until next Tuesday (28), when he will participate in a meeting with businesspeople from Malaysia and Asean, a bloc that brings together Southeast Asian countries. This Sunday (26), President Lula is expected to meet with the President of the United States, Donald Trump to seek a solution to the issue of tariffs on Brazilian products imported by Americans.
