Lula celebrates resumption of relations with Argentina
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On his first trip abroad since assuming the Presidency for the third time, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) met with his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernández, in Buenos Aires, where he reinforced the discourse of resuming relations in Latin America, something promised since the election campaign.
In the same vein, Fernández said that the meeting with the PT member, at Casa Rosada, yesterday, represents the beginning of a deeper strategic bond that “will last for many decades.” The speeches were permeated by praise for the Brazilian and criticism of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his predecessor, Maurício Macri.
“I saw how (Lula) led public policies that lifted millions of people out of poverty”, said Fernández, adding that “he will not let any fascist in Brazil take over popular sovereignty”, referring to the coup attack on the headquarters of the Three Powers , in Brasília, on the 8th. “Our people only want well-being and justice”, continued the Argentine leader. “Brazil had to go through Bolsonaro, and Argentina had to go through Macri; now is the time to enter a new stage.”
Lula stated that, at the end of his mandate, Brazil’s relationship with Argentina will be the best among all Latin American countries. According to the president, Monday (23) marked the beginning of a new story between the two countries. “Be assured that Argentina will be treated with the affection and respect it has always deserved. Not even football will be a reason to divide us, because the economic interests of our fans are greater”, declared the Brazilian president.
For Lula, Brazil lived with its back to South America and Europe, which needs to be changed. “We are going to rebuild the productive relationship between two countries that were born to grow,” said the Brazilian president.
According to Lula, the good relationship between the two countries should never have been truncated. “Today is not the day to talk about the protocol agreement that my ministers signed here and the agreement that president [Alberto] Fernández and I signed. You will certainly have access to all the documents that were signed”, Lula said. “Today I am here to tell the president of Argentina, to tell the Argentine ministers and the Argentine press and the Brazilian press that today is the resumption of a relationship that never should have been truncated,” he added.
Lula thanked Fernández for his “solidarity” when visiting him when he was imprisoned in Curitiba and recalled the good relations between the two countries in the first PT mandates, naming former president of the country and current vice-president Cristina Kirchner. According to Lula, Brazilian businessmen have already understood the importance of Argentina. “Our universities need to be closer, because a good relationship is not just a commercial relationship, it is also a scientific, technological, cultural and, above all, political relationship”, said the Brazilian president.
Ignoring the strong economic crisis that Argentina is going through, the president stated that the neighboring country ended 2022 in a privileged situation.
Common currency between Brazil and Argentina is under study, says Lula; Haddad contemporizes
The common currency project between Brazil and Argentina is being worked on by both countries. The statement was given by President Lula after a meeting with Argentine President Alberto Fernández. “I think that over time this (common currency) will happen, and it needs to happen,” stated Lula. The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, reiterated that there is no project to adopt a single currency between Brazil and Argentina, as circulated on social networks. According to him, the aim is to study a common currency between the two countries for financial and commercial transactions, with a view to reducing dependence on the dollar.
The Brazilian president says that the common currency project will be dealt with together with proposals for foreign trade and transactions made by the economic teams of Argentina and Brazil, after “many debates and meetings”. “If it were up to me, we would always have foreign trade in other countries’ currencies, so that we don’t have to depend on the dollar. Why not try to create a common currency between the two countries, with Brics countries?”, said Lula .
The governments of Brazil and Argentina will also sign an agreement to finance Brazilian exports in operations with guarantees from the neighboring country with international liquidity, to try to rekindle trade between the two countries. The agreement foresees the opening of credit from Brazilian banks to Argentine importers and the creation of a fund by the Brazilian government to guarantee the payment of loans. In this operation, according to the source, the bank pays directly to the Brazilian exporter, with a guarantee from the National Treasury, while Brazil receives from Argentina the same amount, deposited in New York, of bonds with international liquidity.
“It could be Chinese bonds, it could be contracts for the purchase of gas, wheat. Something with international liquidity that guarantees that, in the event of non-payment by the Argentine importer, Brazil can access it to compensate for this non-payment”, said the source. The entire operation, according to the source, would be done in reais. The agreement also provides for the guarantee that Brazilian companies will be able to withdraw funds from Argentina without difficulties. With no foreign currency, the country has controlled the outflow of resources from foreign companies, which should no longer happen with Brazilian ones.
BNDES will once again finance projects abroad
Lula stated that Brazil, via the BNDES, has a duty to help its neighbors
Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil/JC
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said during a meeting with Brazilian and Argentine businessmen that the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) will “once again finance trade relations in Brazil and engineering projects abroad”.
One of the goals of the petista, visiting Argentina this week, is the strengthening of trade ties and regional integration.
Earlier, Lula had already stated that the financing of works in Latin America by the BNDES would be a “reason of pride” for Brazil, and that the country has a duty to help its neighbors
The performance of the development bank abroad was the target of criticism from opponents in previous PT administrations, and mobilized during the election campaign by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
One example is the Port of Mariel, in Cuba, whose modernization was carried out by Odebrecht with BNDES financing. Other works were financed in Venezuela and Mozambique – which even defaulted on payments in 2018.
He also said that if Brazilian businessmen show effort, the conditions for building a gas pipeline between Brazil and Argentina could be created.
“I’m sure that Brazilian businessmen are interested in the gas pipeline, in the fertilizers that Argentina has, in Argentina’s scientific and technological knowledge. And if there is interest from businessmen and the government, and we have a development bank for that, let’s create the conditions to make the financing that we can do to help in the Argentine gas pipeline”, said Lula.
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