President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva withdrew the day before attending the inauguration of Chile’s new president, José Antonio Kast, according to government officials. Lula was invited by Kast, as was senator and opposition presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).
A conservative politician, the Chilean has a very close relationship with the Bolsonaro family, and the senator’s team confirmed his departure. Former president Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly expressed admiration for Kast and received support in the 2022 elections against Lula.
In addition to Flávio, the ceremony is expected to be attended by former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), who led an international campaign in Washington, United States, against Brazilian authorities and became a defendant for coercion.
The decision, not yet made official by the Presidency of the Republic, began circulating on the morning of this Tuesday, the 10th, at the Palácio do Planalto and came to the attention of diplomats involved in preparing the trip, some of them already in Chilean territory. The inauguration will take place this Wednesday, the 11th, in the city of Valparaíso.
Lula’s presence, at Kast’s personal invitation and at the insistence of the Chilean president-elect, was being evaluated in recent weeks and had already been made official. They met in January in Panama and had good personal interaction, in a gesture of bringing them both closer together.
Lula intended, with the act, to send a new political signal of the search for pragmatism and rapprochement with right-wing leaders in the region, as shown by Estadão.
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The strategy is a way for the PT member to shield himself from the formation of a group of opposition leaders who would confront the PT member and try to influence the direction of the elections in the country.
The Chilean wanted to re-discuss with Lula the support for the candidacy of Michelle Bachelet, former left-wing Chilean president, for secretary-general of the United Nations.
Despite being warned by Lula, he said he was surprised by the Brazilian government’s active campaign in favor of it, which generated internal political uneasiness in Chile.
Last week, Kast met with US President Donald Trump and right-wing governments aligned in Latin America, at the Shield of the Americas event, where they discussed approaching and combating organized crime. On the occasion, he met with Eduardo Bolsonaro and took photos hugging the impeached deputy.
