Government maps wear and tear with Lula’s trips abroad – 10/11/2023 – Power

The Lula (PT) government identified in internal surveys a deterioration in public opinion in relation to the number of international trips undertaken by the PT member in recent months. In view of this, the president’s assistants began to guide parliamentarians and activists so that they could intensify the defense of the president’s agendas abroad.

The reservations regarding the pace of travel were detected in surveys carried out periodically by the government to measure Lula’s assessment and the population’s perception of policies adopted by the federal administration.

Internal polls showed that the majority considered that Lula’s diplomatic moves brought benefits to Brazil and improved the country’s image abroad.

However, a considerable portion of those heard said that Lula should travel less outside the country, and a smaller portion said that the amount of PT member travel is adequate.

Lula, 77, has fulfilled an intense itinerary of commitments outside the country since he began his third term in January. To date, around 20 countries have been visited.

The president made his debut international trip in the first month of government. On that occasion, he went to Buenos Aires to participate in a summit of Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) — an entity from which the country had withdrawn during the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government.

In February, just over a month after the anti-democratic attacks of January 8, Lula went to Washington to meet with American President Joe Biden. Two months later, he landed in Beijing for an appointment with authorities from China, Brazil’s main trading partner.

Lula’s advisors justify the high number of trips as an effort to return Brazil to the international scene after Bolsonaro’s years of isolation. In this sense, a good part of the PT member’s agendas abroad were for multilateral forums, such as the G7 in Hiroshima (Japan), the meeting of Mercosur heads of state in Puerto Iguazú (Argentina), the Brics summit in Johannesburg (South Africa ), the G20 in New Delhi (India) and, finally, the UN General Assembly in New York.

After recovering from hip surgery at the end of September, Lula is expected to attend at least two other international events this year: the global climate meeting in the United Arab Emirates and a work meeting in Berlin.

Lula was criticized on one of these trips for prioritizing an international agenda to the detriment of domestic issues. The main episode involved a publication on social media by first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja.

Upon arriving in New Delhi for the G20 in September, Janja published a video celebrating his arrival in India. “Namaste! Hello, India. Good night. Hold on to me, I’m going to dance,” said the first lady in the video, which was later deleted.

At the same time, Rio Grande do Sul was going through a crisis caused by heavy rains in the state, which left dozens of people dead. Janja’s excitement was then criticized by opponents due to the publication’s effusive tone in the midst of a tragedy in Brazil.

With this diagnosis in hand, Lula’s allies took to social media to extol the importance of the PT member’s international travels, highlighting the repositioning of Brazil’s image.

Ministers and parliamentarians claim that the travel marathon served to reposition Brazil’s political and commercial position. They also highlighted the positive impact of Lula’s speech at the UN General Assembly.

Days after Lula’s speech at the UN, Minister Paulo Pimenta (Social Communications) defended Lula’s agenda abroad. “Working for the country. When we say that Brazil is back, it’s about this: resuming dialogue with the world to open doors for more partnerships, new markets and more investments for our country”, wrote the minister, alongside images of the speech of the president and meetings with authorities from other countries.

Minister Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations) adopted a similar line: “High-minded speech [de Lula na ONU] about the environment, global governance, inequality and peace. Today, all Brazilians feel proud of the role that Brazil has in the world. One day, an emotional speech. Thank you President Lula. Brazil is back!”

The expression “Brazil is back” has been repeated by government officials since the beginning of the mandate as a counterpoint to Bolsonaro’s discredit among world leaders — his predecessor had public clashes, among others, with the Frenchman Emmanuel Macron and the Argentinean Alberto Fernández.

A Sheet Pimenta said he assessed the result of the government survey as positive, due to the high number of interviewees who declared that Lula’s international tour brings results for the country. According to him, this assessment by the interviewees is due to the proximity of the dates of two international meetings relevant to Brazil.

“It was one trip after another. All important. For me, this assessment is very positive because public opinion understood the importance of the agenda”, said the minister.