Lula needs to be clearer in his speeches – 04/19/2023 – Maria Hermínia Tavares

On his trip to China, President Lula recalled the story of the citizen who crosses the street to slip on a banana peel on the other sidewalk.

In fact, the successes obtained by him with the signing of 15 bilateral agreements ended up being overshadowed by his clumsy declarations about the causes of the War in Ukraine, the role of the Western powers in the conflict and even by gratuitous jabs at the USA. Not to mention the claim, between naive and excessive, to contribute to the end of the conflict caused by the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory.

All in all, the president left the impression that, far from equidistant in the dispute between the Chinese and Americans for world dominance, the Brazilian government seems to lean towards the side of countries headed by autocracies —an assessment confirmed by the inopportune visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, the first stop on a tour of the region that, in addition to Brasilia, includes Havana, Managua and Caracas.

However, Brazil has a strong asset to exercise effective international leadership, as it is an indispensable part of the efforts aimed at containing the climate crisis on the planet. It is on this board that the country has pieces that allow it to build a position of autonomy in the face of disputes between powers, establishing with them forms of cooperation that are profitable for us and for others.

The environmental theme, moreover, constitutes fertile ground for the relaxation of internal politics. Around it, it is possible to form consensus both on Brazilian external action —in the major multilateral negotiations and in South America— and at the domestic level, where support is very broad, whether in defense of our forestry heritage and biodiversity, or in in relation to urban policies to contain natural disasters intensified by climate change.

As an instrument for promoting national interests, foreign policy played here, at many times, a political aggregating role, contributing to legitimize in the eyes of society governments in which it recognized efforts to obtain prestige for the country.

The other major international issue, with obvious domestic repercussions, is the defense of democracy. In this case, the defeat of the extreme right at the polls gave the country a shining credence. But it will lose value and credibility if Brazil does not disassociate itself from the autocracies with which, pragmatically, it must continue to do business.

In other words, more clarity on what is appropriate, what can be done and what not to say can only benefit the government and the country.

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