Lula defends regional integration in Celac speech

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) used his speech this Tuesday (24th) at the 7th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to defend dialogue and regional integration as a way to strengthen the bloc. In addition to saying that “Brazil is back”, Lula asked for support for Brazil to host the United Nations Climate Conference in 2025 and thanked the support of other countries after the acts of vandalism in Brasília.

Celac is a group composed of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries officially created in 2010. “In my first speech after the election results, I said that Brazil was back in the world. for Celac. It is with great joy and very special satisfaction that Brazil is back in the region and ready to work side by side with all of you, with a very strong sense of solidarity and closeness”, said Lula.

Lula’s speech marks Brazil’s return to the bloc after a brief period of absence. In 2020, then-president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) determined that the country should leave Celac. At the time, the then chancellor, Ernesto Araújo, justified the measure by stating that “CELAC had not been having results in the defense of democracy or in any area. On the contrary, it provided a stage for non-democratic regimes such as those in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua”.

Now, however, Lula defended that his participation in the bloc “renews the vows” made by him, in 2008, in defense of regional integration as a mechanism for strengthening the countries that make up CELAC. “This spirit of solidarity, dialogue and cooperation in a region the size and importance of Latin America and the Caribbean could not be more timely and necessary”, said the Brazilian president.

“Throughout the successive Brazilian governments since re-democratization, we have worked hard and with a sense of mission in favor of regional integration and the consolidation of a peaceful region, based on relations marked by dialogue and cooperation. when my predecessor took the inexplicable decision to withdraw Brazil from CELAC”, completed Lula.

Lula uses Celac to defend Brazil’s candidacy to host the Climate Conference

One of Celac’s objectives is to promote Latin American and Caribbean integration, as well as political, economic and social coordination between countries. Among the agendas are topics such as family farming, energy and the environment.

“In the area of ​​energy, we have very special capabilities to participate, in an advantageous way, in the global energy transition. In addition, we have some of the main biomes in our territories; we have strategic natural resources, such as critical minerals; we conserve a significant portion of the planet’s biodiversity; and we are a powerhouse in water resources, key to the future of humanity”, said Lula.

In this strategy, Lula took advantage of the meeting with Latin American and Caribbean leaders to defend Brazil’s candidacy to host the Climate Conference (COP) to be promoted by the United Nations in 2025. The Planalto Palace decided to launch the capital of Pará, Belém, as a Brazilian candidate to host the event.

“Brazil recently presented the candidacy of Belém do Pará to host the COP-30, in 2025. The support we are receiving from the CELAC countries is essential so that we can show the rest of the world the richness of our biodiversity, the potential for development sustainability and the green economy, in addition, of course, to the importance of preserving the environment and combating climate change”, he added.

Brazilian president thanked for the support after the acts of vandalism

Still during his speech, Lula took the opportunity to thank the support given by the countries that make up the bloc after the acts of vandalism in Brasília on January 8th. Despite the defense of democracy in Brazil, the Brazilian president minimized the participation of left-wing dictatorships such as Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela in CELAC.

“I would like to take the opportunity here to thank each and every one of you who have sided with Brazil and the Brazilian institutions, over the last few days, in repudiation of the anti-democratic acts that took place in Brasília. It is important to emphasize that we are a peaceful region , which repudiates extremism, terrorism and political violence,” said Lula.

Despite being part of the bloc, the leaders of the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan dictatorships withdrew from participating on the eve of the meeting in Buenos Aires. After the CELAC meeting, Lula will meet with Cuba’s dictator, Miguel Díaz-Canel.

On Monday (23), Lula said he was proud of Cuba’s participation in the CELAC bloc. Still in the context of foreign relations, the president asked for “affection” with the Cuban dictatorship and the end of the economic embargo against the island promoted by the United States 60 years ago.

“An end to the blockade of Cuba, which has lasted more than 60 years without any need. Cubans don’t want to copy the Brazilian or US model, they want to make their own model. And who has to do with that? So, it has to treat Venezuela and Cuba with great affection and, in what we can help solve their problems, we will help”, said the PT.