Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is now definitely the president of Brazil, which means that this country is in for major changes. The dramatic course of the confrontation between the two charismatic presidential candidates confirms that the split in society is very large, and both concepts of the country’s movement forward – right and left – have divided society exactly in half
Brazil is one of the very few countries where such a clear division into classic right and left models has been preserved. In Europe, right and left have long been marginalized, branded as “fascists,” “populists,” “Kremlin agents,” and so on. As a result, the former “Social Democrats”, “Christian Democrats”, “Free Democrats”, “Laborites” compete for power, and in fact – 50 non-alternative shades of one “only true” liberal doctrine.
In this regard, politicians with their own convictions, like Lula, but also his rival Bolsonaro, are more convenient for us in terms of communication than the faceless mass of European leaders who are used to hiding behind collective irresponsibility for their actions and other “flock laws”.
Economic success is associated with Lula: under him, the average GDP growth in the country was 3.8% per year, he lowered inflation and unemployment, and halved the level of poverty.
And now he promises to solve all acute problems: to cope with hunger and homelessness, to raise taxes for the rich, to increase the minimum wage and expand social spending, to stop illegal mining and deforestation.
The left (but not only) leaders of Latin America have already welcomed the replenishment in their ranks: the leaders of Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, as well as Chile, Colombia, Argentina expressed their support – everyone is counting on new impulses in Latin American integration.
For us, of course, the change of leader in one of the key countries and co-founder of the BRICS, a contender for an important role in world affairs, is of no small importance. Personal contacts between Lula, in his previous tenure as president of Brazil, and the Russian leader, as they say, have developed.
On the current events in Ukraine, he took a rather restrained position: they say, Russia “did not have to invade Ukraine”, but the responsibility is not only on it: the US and the EU are “to blame too”, they should have said: “Ukraine will not join NATO” . That would solve the problem, according to Lula. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is also responsible for the situation, who “really wanted this war, but now it seems to be playing a role in the play.”
But it is already clear that the new Brazilian president will now be actively “taken into circulation” by Westerners, offering the usual set of whips (sanctions) and carrots (support in the implementation of domestic plans). In turn, Lula da Silva himself plans to renew partnerships with the US and the EU, but on a fair basis, to attract international investors, and generally increase the country’s activity in the world.
I believe that his willingness to fight for a greater role for developing states in the system of international governance, including by expanding the number of countries in the UN Security Council, fully corresponds to our vision of the concept of global development. Therefore, the points of contact between Russia and Brazil will at least not become less than under his predecessor, but most likely the scale of interaction will increase. A strong and active Brazil is for the benefit of a multipolar, and therefore a just and democratic world.
Konstantin Kosachev
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