Lula’s speech increases discomfort with agribusiness

The recent speeches by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in which he classified the Agrishow organizers as “fascists and denialists” and the presence of ministers at the Landless Workers Movement (MST) Fair, last weekend in São Paulo, increased the crisis between the federal government and Brazilian agribusiness.

From last year’s election campaign to the most recent events, Lula has been the protagonist of dubious moments between attention and criticism of the sector responsible for almost 25% of the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At the first state plenary session of the federal government’s Pluriannual Plan, held last week, the president referred to the Agrishow fair at the beginning of the month, saying that “some fascists and denialists did not want my minister to be present”, when there was a supposed “disinvitation” to the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro. The organization of the fair denied that this had happened and even canceled the opening ceremony.

In addition, last weekend, ministers Paulo Pimenta (Secretary of Social Communication), Luiz Marinho (Labor) and Márcio Macedo (Secretary-General) were at the fair promoted by the MST in São Paulo. The movement has already carried out around 30 land invasions since the beginning of the year, including production and research areas, such as Suzano’s properties in Espírito Santo and Embrapa’s, in Bahia.

The speeches and actions of members of the government did not resonate well among parliamentarians, especially for federal deputy Pedro Lupion (PP-PR), who chairs the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture. A POV Gazetteo, he says that Lula contradicts himself between the official speech before the parliamentarians and what he does in events he participates.

“He has demonstrated, since the first day, a total opposition either in taking decisions or in politics contrary to our demands. We had a cooling down, a possibility of rapprochement, he was with us in the FPA, but, apparently, it didn’t help anything. Unfortunately, it once again shows this government’s contempt for the most important sector of the economy,” he said.

For Lupion, Lula’s speeches and the actions of his ministers remove any chance of rapprochement and even raise doubts about the government’s connection with the MST – the CPI, which should start work soon, will answer these doubts, according to the deputy. .

The vice-president of the FPA, Arnaldo Jardim (Cidadania-SP), reinforced the criticism in an interview with the newspaper The State of S. Paulo, that “the government is giving absolutely contradictory signals and has experienced a certain schizophrenia with agro”.

The opinion is similar to that of federal deputy Ricardo Salles (PP-SP), who was Minister of the Environment in the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). He also questioned the Lula government’s connection with the MST and the criticism of agribusiness. According to him, the country that “has the most productive and sustainable agribusiness on the planet is indignant at the preference of the current government for criminals who invade, deprecate and extort Brazilians in the countryside”.

Even at the end of the week, deputy Evair de Mello (PP-ES) was more incisive and said that the government “has pulled out the bridge with agro and there is no more dialogue”. “It is the photograph that we needed to be able to prove the government’s involvement with the MST in these land invasions”, said the parliamentarian, when commenting on the photo of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin next to one of the MST leaders, João Pedro Stédile .

In addition to Alckmin, Lula’s nominee for the Central Bank’s monetary policy directorate, Gabriel Galípolo, also posed for photos with members of the MST last Friday (12).

Agribusiness leaders and politicians criticize Lula’s speech about Agrishow

Although he is not part of the Agrishow organization, the president of the Rural Union of Ribeirão Preto (SRRB), Paulo Maximiano Junqueira Neto, said that President Lula’s speech was generic and classified it as inconceivable and regrettable. “He attacked agro, as head of state, this is inconceivable. It was generic, so, in a way, it reached an entire class and an entire region, which is the strongest in the state of São Paulo. I deeply regret that the federal government was not present [na Agrishow]. I regret even more this speech by the President of the Republic who in no way could have said something similar”, said the president of the rural union.

The deputy leader of the opposition to the government in the Chamber, federal deputy Evair de Mello (PP-ES) also criticized President Lula’s attitudes towards agribusiness. “Agro deserves respect. Without knowing what is happening in the country, Lula spends his time traveling and when he is in Brazil he continues on the platform, campaigning, almost five months after assuming the presidency. His hatred and thirst for revenge make him even more blind and mad. The team is lost, without a base. Arm in arm with MST terrorists, he has now decided to accuse rural producers of being fascists. An unconvicted person who lies and hides the truth about Agrishow”, said the deputy.

Federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) published, on her Twitter account, an excerpt from Lula’s speech and classified the speech as a new attack on agriculture. “Lula is pure hate and revenge. And against our citizens who work from dawn to dusk to put food on our plates, against those who sustained the Brazilian economy during the crisis created by the PT governments, against the locomotive of GDP [Produto Interno Bruto] Brazilian. And he still repeats the narrative of his minister who, in an interview, said that the organizer of the event asked him to go another day, and even so, he says he is ‘uninvited’”, commented the São Paulo parliamentarian.

Federal deputy Caroline De Toni (PL-SC) pointed out that Lula’s positions hinder the sector. “Lula has been showing that his grudge against agribusiness will greatly disrupt this sector, which is the sector that most contributes to Brazil’s GDP, whether through tax increases, environmental bureaucracy, the demarcation of indigenous lands or even land invasions. Day after day, he proves to be a convinced enemy of agro. The MST’s CPI, for which I will be nominated, will contribute to bringing more truths in this regard to the public”, said the deputy.

In the opinion of the political and economic analyst for FGV Carol Curimbaba, it is understandable that the Agrishow situation has generated discomfort, but the federal government’s reaction destroys bridges. “Lula continues to destroy bridges with the most economically relevant sector for the country and distribute fake news, because Agrishow did not disinvite federal government officials. It is possible to understand the discomfort, but I believe that the ideal thing would be for the federal government to ‘face’ the situation and talk about the proposals for the sector”.

Regarding Agrishow, the People’s Gazette contacted the entities organizing the event to comment on President Lula’s speeches. The fair is held by five agribusiness entities: the Brazilian Association of Agribusiness (Abag), the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry (Abimaq), the National Association for the Diffusion of Fertilizers (Anda), the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of State of São Paulo (Faesp) and the Brazilian Rural Society (SRB).

The Abag press office stated that this is “an issue that has been overcome”. Francisco Maturro, the president of Agrishow, is also vice-president of Abag. Anda did not return until the closure of the matter. Through their press offices, the other entities preferred not to take a position on the fact.

Lula says he will go to the fair in Bahia to “make Agrishow jealous”

In his speech, Lula also mentioned that he will go to the Bahia Farm Show to “make Agrishow jealous”. The event will take place between June 6th and 10th. “I mean that I [vou] at this fair just to envy the bad guys in São Paulo who didn’t let my minister participate”, said the president.

In view of this, Mello took advantage of the speech to remember that Bolsonaro was at the Bahia fair in 2022. “We look forward to your presence this year, in Luiz Eduardo Magalhães, at the Bahia Farm Show. It will even be funny to compare the images of Bolsonaro’s visit there in 2022 with his this year”, commented the Espírito Santo parliamentarian.

Federal deputy Ricardo Salles (PL-SP) also commented on the president’s speech on his social networks. “Lula spread fake news, like when he said that his Minister was disinvited from Agrishow, we are used to it. But insulting the country’s largest production chain? This is unacceptable,” said Salles.

For political analyst Carol Curimbaba, Lula’s revanchist tone harms dialogue with the sector. “He said, in a revanchist tone, to the “fascists of São Paulo” that he can go to other fairs and that Agrishow has nothing. It is very sad, because it is a time when we are waiting for bridges to be built”, said the specialist.

The president of the SRRB, Paulo Maximiano, also criticized President Lula’s position. “There doesn’t have to be competition between fairs. They all have to get better and better. Agrishow broke all records in this edition, public and sales. Is this how he wants to approach agro? Is that how he means that there has to be pacification? Everything he’s doing is against what they said in the election.”