Alberto Fernández meets with Lula and celebrates “Brazil’s return” to the international scene

The Argentine president, Alberto Fernandezsaid Monday that the return to power of the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva represents the “return of Brazil” to the international scene, after meeting with the new president in Brasilia.

“Lula is a regional leader who is going to give a very important boost to Latin America.” His presidency supposes “the return of Brazil to all international forums,” the center-left Argentine president told reporters.

Fernández, who attended the inauguration of Lula in the Brazilian capital, said that both are “on the same path” in their bilateral and regional objectives.

He also invited him to Buenos Aires on January 23 and 24 for the Celac summit.

“It has been a great meeting because we have clearly decided to relaunch the link between Argentina and Brazil with all the strength it should have, which has become more difficult in the last four years,” he said, alluding to the mandate of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

“Argentina and Brazil are inextricably linked countries and no political moment can disturb that,” he added.

Since he came to power in 2019 Bolsonaro it distanced itself from part of the international community for its positions on the environment or human rights, and clashed with China and the Arab world.

Lula, who already governed this country of continental size and the largest economy in Latin America twice between 2003 and 2010, promised the return of Brazil to the international scene, especially with its environmental commitments.

“Brazil’s absence from international forums was very evident and it is something that we cannot afford because Brazil is too important a country in the region,” said Fernández.

“We have been separated from the international scene in recent years due to a limiting ideological vision,” the new Brazilian foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, said on Monday, referring to the shift imposed during the Bolsonaro administration.

This was mainly promoted by Ernesto Araujo (2019-2021), a Trump-admiring diplomat, anti-globalization, and climate change skeptic.

Brazil will have “an enormous reconstruction job” after this “unprecedented setback,” added Vieira upon assuming the post of foreign minister, which he had already held during the mandate of Dilma Rousseff (2015-2016).

Lula also met during the day with the presidents of Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Portugal and the King of Spain.

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