Lula’s trip to Lisbon and Madrid cost R$ 1.3 million

With an entourage of 97 authorities, advisors and security guards, President Lula’s entourage to Lisbon and Madrid, in April, cost the public coffers R$ 1.3 million in per diems and tickets alone. In just one day in Madrid, R$ 400,000 was spent. Lodging, food, ground transportation, airport fees and operating costs of presidential jets are not included. The secrecy of this data is for security reasons, says the Presidency.

On the six-day trip, R$760,000 was spent on daily rates and R$515,000 on airline tickets. The average daily rate reached R$ 10.4 thousand. Expenses with civil servants and authorities who were only in Madrid totaled R$ 303 thousand. Another group that visited cities in Portugal and Madrid spent R$230,000.

The entourage that worked only in Portugal spent BRL 620 thousand. A smaller group helped to prepare and accompanied the president in Lisbon, Madrid and Beijing, with expenses of R$ 166 thousand. Lula also stopped by for two hours in Porto, north of Lisbon, for the opening session of the Brazil-Portugal Business Forum. On his return to Lisbon, he embarked on a demonstration/propaganda flight aboard an Embraer KC-390 Millennium aircraft.

Military honors, church and award to Chico Buarque

Lula’s itinerary in Portugal was quite varied. In the festive part, there was a welcome ceremony with military honors, floral laying next to Camões tomb, visit to the church and cloisters of the Jerónimos Monastery and delivery of the Camões Prize to Chico Buarque. In the work meetings, there was signing of acts and restricted and expanded meetings with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. There was also lunch and a restricted meeting with the Prime Minister, António Costa, who really governs the country.

On his way through Portugal, there were protests by right-wing deputies during a speech by Lula in the Portuguese Parliament. The Liberal Party bench withdrew from the plenary, while 12 parliamentarians from the Chega party carried posters with the phrases “Enough of corruption” and “A thief’s place is in prison”.

Still in Portugal, Lula tried to soften the tensions with European countries for having accused the European Union and the United States of America of encouraging the war in Ukraine. The statements made during his visit to China in early April provoked criticism of Brazilian diplomacy.

Meeting with trade union centrals in Spain

In Madrid, Lula held a meeting with Spanish trade union centrals. He signed cooperation agreements in the areas of education, work and scientific research. The first document was a memorandum that provides for the exchange of information between the Ministries of Labor of the two countries on the labor reform in Spain, carried out in 2021.

The president participated in the closing of the Brazil-Spain Business Forum, took an official photo and had a ministerial meeting with the president of the government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, as well as a meeting with King Felipe VI of Spain. Lula also participated in the signing of acts. There was also lunch in honor of President Lula and Mrs. Janja Lula da Silva.

Last Tuesday (23), in an event marking the 11 years of the Access to Information Law, President Lula compared the LAI to an 11-year-old child who was “raped”. He was referring to the nearly 100-year-old secrecy imposed by then-President Jair Bolsonaro on his and his family’s documents. The LAI allows citizens to access documents from the three powers, Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.

But details of the President’s travel expenses remain confidential until the end of his term. Expenses with accommodation in luxurious hotels, with food for the official entourage and with travel by the president, guests and security guards on land trains are under secrecy. Services abroad are paid by the Brazilian Embassy in each country visited. Expenses paid with corporate cards during the trip, such as services at airports, food on board and telephone services, are also not disclosed.

A blog report also revealed that, in addition to the secret flights of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brazilian Air Force (FAB) jets, the Supreme Court maintains secret flights of ministers and their security guards and advisors on airliners. The court only reports the name of the passenger and the cost of each flight. Keep the date, destination and reason for the trip confidential. It is not disclosed where they went and what servants and ministers did.