Brazil's Lula heads to Argentina in first abroad trip, US trip later

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Jan 22:17

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to meet with his Argentinian counterpart and discuss trade, defense, science, and technology.

Brazil's elected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meets Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 31, 2022. (Reuters).

Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is headed to Argentina, on Sunday, in a first step towards setting a working plan to fulfill his promise of bringing Brazil back to the international stage.

Beyond custom, given that Argentina is typically a Brazillian President's primary destination, the trip will allow Lula to meet with Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez, a devoted ally, as well as regional peers at the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

According to Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting between the two presidents is expected to include discussions related to trade, science, technology, and defense.

Since his electoral victory in October, Lula has embarked on a journey to highlight that "Brazil is back" and vowed to visit Washington and Beijing early in his term to address important climate issues.

"Brazil is back, seeking dialogue with everyone and committed to the search for a world without hunger and with peace," Lula argued.

His international outreach is only getting started in Latin America; on January 30, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is anticipated to pay Brazil a visit, and on February 10, Lula will head to Washington to meet with his American counterpart Joe Biden.

'Fanatical, rabid far right' on Lula's watchlist: Brazil

The president of Brazil expressed on Thursday his intent to contend with the novel threat of the "fanatical far right" which he dubbed the "new monster", not only in Brazil but also across the world.

After defeating his right-wing rival in the elections back in October, leftist and former trade unionist Lula replaced Jair Bolsonaro and assumed office at the start of the new year.

"We have to challenge and defeat the new monster that is the emergence of a fanatical, rabid far right that hates all of those that don't share their thoughts," Lula said in a speech at the presidential palace in Brasilia, adding that he had never seen Brazil "gripped by so much hate."

Lula explained that this was "not only a Brazilian problem," drawing parallels between Bolsonaro, former US President Donald Trump, and current Italian PM Meloni.

"Although we have defeated Bolsonaro, we must still defeat hate, lies, disinformation, and fanatics, because this society needs to return to being civilized," Lula said.