During a speech at the Celac-Africa Forum, the Brazilian president questioned whether the United States’ actions in Cuba and Venezuela ‘are democratic’
The President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), said this Saturday (21) that he was “outraged by the passivity of the members of the Security Council” from the Organizations of Nations (UN) for not being able to end wars.
“What we are seeing in the world is the total and absolute lack of functioning of the United Nations. The UN Security Council and its permanent members were created to try to maintain peace“, said the Brazilian president. “They are the ones who are making wars! And when are we going to take action to prevent more powerful countries from thinking they are the owners of the most fragile countries?”, he asked.
The speech was given during the speech at the Celac-África Forum this Saturday, in Bogotá. “I am outraged by the passivity of security members who were unable to resolve the problem in the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Iran. In other words, everything can be resolved by war? Who has the most cannons thinks they own the world?”
O Brazilian president defended Latin American and African countries against great world powers. I couldn’t have missed that meeting. I arrived here at 2am for this meeting. We need to raise our heads, it’s not possible for someone to think they own other countries,” said Lula, who traveled to Colombia late Friday night (20). “What are they doing with Cuba now? What did they do with Venezuela? Is this democratic? In which article of the UN charter does it say that a president of one country can invade another? Not even the Bible”, said the president.
Lula’s statements refer to the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the United States and the president’s threats . “I sincerely believe that I will have the honor of taking control of Cuba, in some way,” he responded in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, after being asked about military action against the government in Havana. “I mean free her, or take her. I guess I can do whatever I want if you want me to tell the truth. It is a very weak nation at the moment”, he considered. “It would be a great honor”, he explained.
The Brazilian leader warned about exploration and critical minerals in the world and the importance of developing countries using their mineral reserves for their economic development, highlighting that after the great powers take everything that developing countries had “Now they want to own the critical minerals and rare earths we have”.
“It’s a chance for Bolivia, Africa, Latin America to not accept being just an exporter (knocks on the table) of minerals for them. Whoever wants to, settle in the country, so that we have the chance to develop our countries”, stated Lula.
The president also said that he was “extremely concerned about what is happening in the world today” and that this is the “greatest concentration of conflicts since the Second World War”. He stated that “the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran and many other conflicts take us away from the path of development and generate economic, social and political effects throughout the world” and “increase the price of energy and food”.
According to the Brazilian president, the “African Union is a source of inspiration for integration in our region and demonstrates that it is possible to invest in regional institutions even in the face of adversity in national political projects”.
“Despite having implemented several public racial equality policies, such as quota laws, Brazil is still far from paying its debt to Africa for 350 years of slavery. Facing the colonial legacy together is the best tribute we can pay to our shared history”, stated Lula.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
