Amid the worst moment of the relationship with the United States, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva prepare to go to New York for his third participation in the United Nations General Assembly (UN) in the current term. The event, scheduled for next week, is treated as one of the president’s priorities in his international agenda. In his three terms as chief executive, Lula attended all the assemblies, except for 2010. At the time, he sent the then Chancellor Celso Amorim in his place, as he was focused on the president campaign to elect Dilma Rousseff.
This year, Lula also aims to be attended at the meeting, which will be held in New York, on September 23rd. In addition to having no election campaign in 2025, the meeting will be a key time to advance in COP30 negotiations, which will take place in Brazil in an Amazonian city (Belém) in November.
On the 24th, the UN will host the climate summit when countries should announce their proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, the NDCs (nationally determined) NDCs. Traditionally, the representative of Brazil makes the opening speech of the Assembly – what Lula did in 2023 and 2024.
The president will arrive in New York at the worst moment of the relationship between the United States and Brazil. President Donald Trump’s government imposed up to 50% rates on Brazilian products as a reprisal to the inquiry that led to the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro for a coup attempt.
In addition to the economic sanction, the US authorities revoked the visa of Ministers of the Supreme Court (STF) and applied magnitsky law against Minister Alexandre de Moraes. Punishment provides for the blockade of Moraes accounts and transactions with entities subject to American law.
In an article published in “New York Times” on Sunday, Lula sent a message to Trump that Brazil “still open to negotiating anything that can bring mutual benefits”. But he pondered that “democracy and sovereignty of Brazil are not on the agenda”.
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In the same text, the president also countered the US government’s allegations that Bolsonaro’s conviction consisted of a “witch hunt” and came out in defense of the Supreme.
The petista claimed to be proud of the “historical decision” of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which, according to him, “safeguard our institutions and the Democratic Rule of Law.”
Bolsonaro and seven other defendants appointed as members of the crucial core of the coup plot were convicted this week by the first class of the STF. After the sentence, Washington promised “proper response” to what he considered to be a “witch hunt” against the opposition.
