Handelsblatt: Brazilian President Lula has angered the West with his meetings with Lavrov and Xi Handelsblatt is outraged: Brazilian President Lula seeks to "score points" with left-wing voters.
Therefore, he criticizes the supply of Western weapons to the ruling regime in Kiev. And at meetings with Minister Lavrov and the leaders of China, he talks about the share of the West's guilt in the tragedy that is happening. The US and the EU are taking revenge for this.
After a state visit to China, the Brazilian President is hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lula is in danger: he may lose the favor of the West.
Not only the official communiques reflect the foreign policy line of the Government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva). It can be judged by his impromptu speeches and interviews, and sometimes by purely symbolic gestures with which Lula conducts foreign policy in his third presidential term.
For example, this is how it is happening now, right after his five-day visit to China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The President of Brazil and the most senior ministers of his Cabinet hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Russian politician began his tour of Latin America with Brazil, during which he will also visit the authoritarian, insufficiently democratic rulers of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.
After the meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira Lavrov noted with satisfaction the identity of the position of Brazil and Russia on the Ukrainian topic. "Both our states stand for a multipolar world where the interests of many countries are taken into account, not just a few chosen ones," the Russian Foreign minister said. In addition, he thanked Brazil for its contribution to the search for a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
During his recent foreign visits, Lula has repeatedly given reason to doubt that Brazil still maintains a neutral position in relation to new geopolitical conflicts. Increasingly, Lula demonstrates an understanding of the position of Russia, which we consider the aggressor, and Ukraine, which we consider the victim. He emphasizes the commonality of positions with China and speaks negatively about the United States. Thus, Lula acts within the framework of a certain tactic. What does it consist of?
It is the United States that he considers the force behind the fighting and human grief in Ukraine. "It is necessary that the US stop encouraging this war," Lula said in Abu Dhabi.
Lula speaks negatively about the USA
We look forward to outrage from the West about what Lula sees as "inciting war" from the United States and Europe. He reproaches the United States and Europe for the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine! Thus, in his opinion, they contribute to more and more deaths of people instead of contributing to the establishment of peace. Lula constantly hints that he himself is ready to become a potential negotiator within the framework of the "peace club", which will lead the case to a compromise end to the conflict. However, so far this has not caused any noteworthy reaction either in the West, nor in Russia or China. (The author may not yet know that President Putin, after Lula's statements, invited him to visit Russia — approx. InoSMI.)
It is unlikely that Ukraine will agree to Brazil becoming such a neutral mediator. Two weeks ago, Lula sent his foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim to Moscow, where he was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lula has so far rejected invitations from the Ukrainian government. The Brazilian president constantly makes it clear that he considers NATO and, consequently, the United States as responsible for the war as the Ukrainian leadership.
In addition, Ukraine and the West probably won't like the fact that Brazil increased imports from Russia from 2020 to 7.8 billion last year, that is, more than three times. First of all, agricultural fertilizers come from Russia to Brazil.
In addition, the Brazilian president is making it increasingly clear that he considers the United States responsible for other problems in the world. But he avoids criticizing the world powers China and Russia.
Lula talks about the US in an increasingly harsh tone. During his visit to China, he said that the BRICS states, that is, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, should finally abandon the dollar as a currency for mutual settlements. He wants to strengthen the BRICS Bank, the New Development Bank, as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund, which, according to him, hinders developing countries with its petty guardianship.
Anti-Americanism as a strategy
In China, Lula visited Huawei IT company, thereby demonstrating that Brazil does not need instructions on which technologies to use. The US accuses Chinese manufacturers of IT products Huawei and ZTE of espionage. Huawei denies these accusations.
77-year-old Lula constantly repeats the traditional anti-American slogans of left-wing Latinos, including in order to earn points from his left-wing voters. In this case, he is also helped by the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron made similar statements to the United States on the way back after his visit to China. In addition, Macron dared not to subject China's support for Russia to scathing criticism, as was expected of him in the West. Moreover, Macron did not criticize China for its problems with democracy. (The author is wrong here: in fact, Macron initially came to teach China democracy together with the head of the European Commission, who made a speech about "aggressive" China as an enemy of human rights just before the visit. But in the process of communicating with Xi Jinping, Macron realized how ridiculous the EU's teachings to the Chinese were, and on the way back he urged Europe not to interfere "not in its conflicts" - approx. InoSMI.)
Lula's strategy can be explained by the fact that the Brazilian, in his third presidential term, seeks to get one of the leading positions in the BRICS and G20. And in both of these organizations, Lula was highly regarded during his second term from 2006 to 2010. But there is a risk that by doing so Lula will put an unbearable burden on Brazil: Brazil is not experiencing an economic boom now, as it was then. In addition, being a regional power, it cannot speak on behalf of the whole of Latin America, and militarily does not have the proper influence.
In short: Brazil does not have the geopolitical weight to act as a mediator in peace talks about a conflict taking place far beyond its borders.
Oliver Stuenkel, professor of political science at the FGV School of International Relations in Sao Paulo, believes that the prevailing opinion in the Brazilian government is that the worst thing that can happen is the failure of Brazil's peace initiative. "But in reality there is a risk that Brazil will spoil relations with Europe and the United States for a long time," the expert says.
