Declaration was made during the last ministerial meeting of the year; ‘If we believe in the power of argument, in the power of words, we can avoid a lot of confusion in the lives of countries’, he added
The president said at a ministerial meeting this Wednesday (17) that he gave advice during a conversation with the American president. “I told Trump that talking is cheaper than war,” said the president. “If we believe in the power of argument, in the power of words, we can avoid a lot of confusion in the lives of countries”, he continued. The last meeting of the year discussed the priorities for 2026 and discussions about the three years of government.
During the meeting, Lula defended dialogue as the government’s main tool, both in its relationship with Congress and at the international level. When addressing negotiation capacity, he cited recent conversations with the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Lula also demanded from ministers greater publicity of the government’s results and assessed that, despite favorable indicators, advances do not appear with the same intensity in opinion polls due to strong political polarization. For the president, 2026 will be the “year of truth”, when voters will have the opportunity to compare country projects. He highlighted that the government has already announced the main social policies and stated that the electoral period will show “who is who” in national politics.
In the economic area, Lula once again defended that strengthening the population’s income is central to facing problems such as inflation, consumption and industrialization. According to him, when there is “money in the hands of the people”, the economy reorganizes itself. The president also stated that public banks have expanded their investment capacity, but assessed that this effort still needs to be intensified. Lula acknowledged the government’s communication difficulties and said that 2026 will be an opportunity to improve the narrative among the population.
Vice President Geraldo Alckmin announced that Lula signed a provisional measure to reduce interest rates on truck financing, meeting a demand from the productive sector. According to Alckmin, the initiative seeks to stimulate credit and revive the trucking industry and other heavier segments of the economy. He also highlighted the progress of the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, which, according to the government, should open new markets for Brazil.
Lula and Alckmin also highlighted projects being processed in Congress that could reinforce the government’s image, such as the tax policy already approved in the Chamber and under analysis in the Senate. In the electoral context, Lula stated that ministers and parties from the government base will have to position themselves politically in 2026, the year in which part of the team must leave the government to run for office.
