Brazil’s Left-Wing Lula Advocates International Strategy Against Global Far Right Movements

By Andreia Verdélio

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is planning to propose an international strategy to confront the growth of far-right movements around the world. The idea is to bring together “democrat presidents” at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, slated to take place in New York in September.

“We are living in a new period. The left-wing sectors, the progressive sectors, the democratic sectors have to organize and prepare themselves,” he said Tuesday (Apr. 23) during breakfast with journalists at the Planalto presidential palace. He noted he had already talked about this initiative with the presidents of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and France, Emmanuel Macron.

The Brazilian leader cited cases of violence and intolerance in Brazil and said there is an established hatred that “didn’t exist in the country and has now become commonplace.” Similar movements are taking place in European nations and in the US, a country that was once “the most fantastic mirror of democracy,” he went on to argue.

Today, the president stated, hundreds of people are under arrest in the US for storming the Capitol. On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump broke into the House of Representatives to try to reverse his election defeat.

“It was an affront to democracy, and you can’t allow the denial of institutions to prevail. It’s extremely important that institutions created to maintain democracy should be strong, no matter how flawed they may be. That’s why the US, which were the image of respect for democracy and the institutions, have turned out to be like this,” he said.

The president noted that, a few decades ago, South America was made up of a majority of governments “committed to the left and to a socially just state.” “If you look at South America today, you realize there’s been a setback, precisely because of the knowledge of the extreme right, the growth of xenophobia, the growth of racism, the persecution of minorities, an agenda with customs often filled with backward topics. This has taken hold and that’s why Brazil stands out,” he declared.

The president is seeking to take advantage of the “optimism regarding diplomatic relations” with Brazil in order to promote a “fundamental political discussion” about these movements and how to confront them.

“As far as I can tell, I’m considered persona non grata by the far right all over the world,” he said. “There is a really high expectation surrounding Brazil and a really high expectation around the symbolism of the return of democracy in this country,” he added, mentioning his participation in various international forums since the start of his third term.