Lula meets with South American presidents in Brasilia
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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is hosting a meeting with ten other presidents of South American countries this Tuesday (30), at the Itamaraty Palace, in Brasília. The presidents Alberto Fernández (Argentina), Luís Arce (Bolivia), Gabriel Boric (Chile), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Guillermo Lasso (Ecuador), Irfaan Ali (Guyana), Mário Abdo Benítez (Paraguay), Chan Santokhi (Suriname), Luís Lacalle Pou (Uruguay) and Nicolás Maduro (Venezuela).
The only absence at presidential level is that of Peru, whose President Dina Boluarte is unable to attend for constitutional reasons. Peru has been experiencing a political crisis since the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo at the end of last year. Dina Boluarte will be replaced by the president of the country’s council of ministers, Alberto Otárola.
South American leaders responded to an invitation made by Lula, who seeks to resume cooperation within the continent. According to Ambassador Gisela Figueiredo Padovan, secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the main agendas, in addition to integration, revolve around common issues in the areas of health, infrastructure, energy, the environment and the fight against organized crime.
“The idea is to resume dialogue and cooperation with South American countries. Identify common denominators. The region has capacities that will be key in the future of humanity, such as natural resources, water, minerals, area for food production. A concrete cooperation agenda can be started immediately”, said the ambassador, during an interview to provide general information about the summit.
The first to arrive in the federal capital was the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who held a bilateral meeting with President Lula at the Planalto Palace. The meeting marked the resumption of relations between the two countries. Maduro returns to Brazil after eight years. Due to political and ideological differences, the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro cut Brazil’s diplomatic relations with Venezuela, which were officially resumed in the current administration. Lula evaluated the reconstruction of relations between Brazil and Venezuela as complete.
Context
Although the Brazilian government avoids pointing out a specific proposal, there is an expectation that the presidents will discuss more concrete ways to expand integration, including the possibility of creating or restructuring a South American cooperation mechanism, which brings together all the nations in the region. Currently, there is no block with these characteristics.
The Union of South American Nations (Unasur), created in 2008, during President Lula’s second term, has been disintegrating over time, amid changes in governments in several countries, and now brings together only seven of them: Venezuela, Bolivia , Guyana, Suriname, Peru, as well as Argentina and Brazil], which recently returned to the group.. Brazil also returned to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) this year, but the bloc is broader than South American borders.
During the meeting with the Venezuelan president, Lula defended that South American countries recover the region’s defense council, dedicated to cooperation for border security.
“I think you have to go back. To combat organized crime, drug trafficking and to prepare border defense, it is necessary to have cohesive Armed Forces, working together and preparing to guarantee the sovereignty of countries”, said the Brazilian president. According to Lula, the device was successful and built unanimously within Unasur.
Schedule
The event will have two sessions this Tuesday, at Itamaraty. In the morning, guests will be received by President Lula and will then deliver opening speeches. In the afternoon, a more informal conversation is scheduled, in a reduced format, in which each president will be accompanied by the respective chancellor and only one or two advisors. The Itamaraty did not say whether the summit will release an official document at the end of the meeting, scheduled for 6 pm. Afterwards, the heads of state who remain in Brasilia should participate in a dinner offered by Lula and the first lady, Janja da Silva, at the Alvorada Palace, the official residence.
Check below the complete schedule updated by Itamaraty:
8:45 am — Arrival of the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
9:00 am — Arrival of the Presidents of South America
10:00 — Official photo of the presidents of South America
10:15 am — Opening of the Meeting of Presidents of the Countries of South America
Location: Sala Brasilia
- Words from the President of the Republic of Brazil
10:45 am — Working session
Location: Sala Brasilia
Speeches by the Presidents (15 minutes)
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Guyana
- Paraguay
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Interventions by other heads of delegation (15 minutes)
- Peru
13:30 — Lunch offered by the President of the Republic to the presidents of the countries of South America
Venue: Sala Portinari
3 pm — Dialogue between presidents
Location: Sala Brasilia
6 pm — Closing of the Meeting of Presidents of the Countries of South America
Location: Sala Brasilia
- Words from the President of the Republic of Brazil
6:35 pm — Departure of the presidents of the countries of South America, from the Itamaraty Palace
8:30 pm — Dinner offered by the President of the Republic and Mrs. Janja Lula da Silva to the presidents of the countries of South America and their spouses
Location: Palácio da Alvorada, Banquet Room
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