The president of Brazil, Ignacio Lula da Silva, confronted his US pair, Donald Trump in the United Nations leaders’ opening speech. “Attacks against sovereignty, arbitrary sanctions and unilateral interventions are becoming the norm”warned in the International Forum.
In a speech that extended for more than 40 minutes, the Brazilian president made a review of the main challenges facing nations worldwide. In this scenario, he had particular emphasis on respect for sovereignty of each countrythe need to regulate the Internet and the new tools of AI, the fight against hunger worldwide, the resolution of armed conflicts – mainly in Gaza and Ukraine -, global warming and The current tension in international trade, unleashed following reciprocal tariffs imposed by Trump.
Lula da Silva and his confrontation against Donald Trump
Not to mention it directly, the Brazilian leader positioned himself In the antipodes of the American president and advocated different world leadership, based on multilateralism and respect for “the voice of the global southern.”
In the midst of growing tensions with the Republican for 50% tariffs on Brazil, Lula was erected as an alternative to current global leadership and launched darts against US administration and its positioning in different themes that today affect different countries around the world.
The highest confrontation point came when Lula said Brazil lives “an unprecedented attack” to its institutions and economy. “The aggression against the independence of the Judiciary is unacceptable. This interference in national matters is assisted by an extremely subjected right, which feels nostalgia for the hegemonies of the past,” he said.
“In the eyes of the world, Brazil sent a message to the broom autocrats and those who support it. Our democracy and our sovereignty are not dribbling “was the president’s response to the growing tension also in the judicial level, before Trump’s support, the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, recently convicted by the highest Brazilian court of justice.
On international trade, Lula analyzed: “Few sectors have worsened as much as the multilateral trade system, with unilateral measures that have caused the fundamental principles to become hollow words. They have altered the value chains and thrown by land the global economy that has plunged into a pernicious spiral of high prices and stagnation. It is urgent to refound the WTO. “
Armed conflicts
In reference to the current armed conflicts, the Brazilian president said that “No situation is more emblematic of disproportionate and illegal use of force as what is happening in Palestine.”
“The terrorist attacks that Hamas perpetrated are indefensible from any perspective,” the Latin American leader acknowledged. However, he then sentenced: “But nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies the current genocide in Gaza.”
“In Gaza, under tons of debris, tens of thousands of innocent women and children are buried,” he warned and then firing darts about the governments of Israel and the United States: “This massacre would not have occurred without the complicity of those who could have prevented it. In Gaza hunger is used as a gun and the forced displacement of the population occurs unpunished. ”
In this sense, Lula showed his concern and assured that “the spread of this conflict to Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Qatar, feed an unprecedented arms race.”
In addition, he also assured that “the way to dialogue should not be closed to Venezuela” and warned against “The use of lethal force in situations that do not constitute armed conflict” something he described as “Execute someone without judgment”after the United States attacks to vessels from Venezuela.
Finally, about the war between Ukraine and Russia – which has been in development for more than three years since his outbreak – the Brazilian president said that “the recent meeting in Alaska gave hope that there would be a negotiated exit.” “It is necessary to pave the way to a realistic solution, which represents taking into account the legitimate concerns in security of all parties, “he said.
The need to regulate the Internet and AI
“Internet cannot be the land of anarchy,” he explained during his speech. “The regulation does not involve raising freedom of expression, but it is to ensure that what is already illegal in the real world is in the same way in the virtual environment “he explained about the problems in the digital field.
Thus, he said that “attacks against regulations help cover up hidden interests and They offer coat for crime, fraud, human trafficking, pedophilia and attacks against democracy “.
Finally, and in reference to the emergence and strengthening of artificial intelligence worldwide, Lula concluded: “To alleviate the risks of AI we are committed to consolidating multilateral governance with attachment to the world digital pact that was approved in this plenary last year.”
Climate change
On climate change, Lula said that “it was time to move from negotiation to the application.” Thus, he urged that this problem becomes “the heart that gives life to the UN, because it deserves all its attention.”
“Brazil has pledged to reduce its emissions at a rate of 59 to 67% covering all greenhouse gases and all sectors of the economy,” he said.
In this scenario, the Brazilian president pointed against developed countries and analyzed: “Developing countries face climate change While they also run into other challenges while rich countries enjoy a standard of living at the expense of these 200 years of greenhouse gas emissions. A much greater ambition is needed and guarantee much greater access to resources and technology and not for charity but for justice. “
“The energy transition cannot allow the depredation and asymmetric logic of the last centuries to be reproduced,” said the president of Brazil.
The memory of Pepe Mujica and Pope Francis
On the end of his speech, the Brazilian president took a few minutes to honor the Uruguayan president, José “Pepe” Mujica, and Pope Francis, both deceased during 2024. “The world has run out of two exceptional personalities. Both represented as no other humanist values,” he recalled in a sense message.
Lula and the Pope
“Their lives were intertwined with those 8 decades of life of the UN. If they continued with us they would probably use this platform to remember that authoritarianism, environmental degradation and inequality are not inexorable. That the only defeated are those who resign. That we can overcome in front of the false prophets and oligarchs “he concluded.
Source: Ambito
