• War in Europe Lula freezes his desire to mediate between Russia and Ukraine after the disagreement with Zelenski at the G7

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's plan to resurrect the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and become the great leader of the region will not be possible: the president of Brazil met with serious resistance from several countries to his proposal, resistances that, after his emphatic support for the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, will be reinforced this Tuesday at the South American Summit he convened in Brasilia.

"There is no consensus," admitted to EL MUNDO a high source from Itamaraty, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry that will host Lula's meeting with his ten South American counterparts and the president of the Council of Ministers of Peru, since President Dina Boluarte did not obtain authorization from Parliament to travel to Brazil.

"We will seek to agree on a possible level of dialogue so that there is that, an instance of dialogue at the regional level. But not necessarily an organization, that will be discussed by the presidents, and we must listen to them, "added the senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, in which they are aware that today's Summit will not be easy.

Uruguay already said, during an interview with EL MUNDO to President Luis Lacalle Pou, that he does not see the need to refloat Unasur, from which the country left three years ago, as well as Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay, among others. "My opinion of Unasur has not changed," said the Uruguayan head of state, who promised to make his voice heard at a meeting in which he is ideologically in the minority.

A development of the last hours, however, further complicated Lula's plans for the Summit, and the striking thing is that the Brazilian president himself was responsible.

During a press conference on Monday afternoon with Maduro, the Brazilian leader was emphatic in his support for the head of the Venezuelan regime. "Comrade Maduro. You know the narrative that was built against Venezuela: anti-democracy, authoritarianism. So, I think Venezuela must show its narrative so that people effectively change their minds. There are people who don't even know where Venezuela is, but they know that Venezuela has democracy problems. Then it is necessary for you to build your narrative. And I think, from everything we've talked to you, that your narrative is going to be infinitely better than the narrative that exists against you. It is indeed inexplicable for one country to suffer 900 sanctions because there is another country that does not like that country. Inexplicable!"

Lula's vehement support for Maduro, the leader of an authoritarian regime that sent seven million people into exile, amounts to a shot in the foot in the face of his desire to take South America behind his leadership.

Lula's ideological embrace of Maduro distances countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru and even Chile from any possible support for the plans of the Brazilian, who is negotiating the payment of a debt of 1,140 million dollars of Caracas with Brasilia.

"If there are countries that clearly do not respect human rights, that clearly some are dictatorships and others are authoritarian governments, it does not seem very logical that nobody says anything ...," Lacalle Pou said in that interview.

Paraguayan Mario Abdo Benitez, who will leave power in less than three months, thinks the same as Ecuadorian Guillermo Lasso, whose power is threatened in Ecuador. There is also a clearly left-wing president, the Chilean Gabriel Boric, who does not agree with Lula's vision either.

Boric argues that human rights must be respected in all countries, that one cannot be more sympathetic to the regimes of a theoretical left that do not respect civil liberties or human rights. That position distinguishes him from the rest of the leftist leaders in the region, including the Argentine Alberto Fernández, who has already announced the return of his country to Unasur.

"We are not so much interested in emphasizing formal institutions, but in finding ways of cooperation on specific issues," said Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren.

Maduro's presence in Brasilia is controversial. Several presidents rejected Lula's initial proposal – an informal retreat of heads of state, a lockdown without advisers to debate hand in hand – since that included becoming intimate with the leader of the Venezuelan regime. Thus, from the withdrawal of presidents, the meeting changed format and became a traditional summit.

However, Lula's enthusiasm in proposing to Maduro a "narrative" of his own against criticism threatens to complicate his own plans for South American integration.

Lula already suffered a serious diplomatic setback a few days ago during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, when the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, did not show up for an agreed meeting. The Brazilian leader made controversial statements in recent weeks in which he put Ukraine and Russia on the same level of responsibility for the war unleashed since the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin in February 2022. To the astonishment of the main Western foreign ministries, the Brazilian head of state also criticized Europe and the United States for arming Ukraine for its defense.

  • Venezuela
  • Ecuador
  • Ukraine
  • Brazil
  • Russia
  • Alberto Fernandez
  • Lula da Silva
  • Vladimir Putin
  • Europe
  • Ministry of Defence
  • Chile
  • Peru
  • Uruguay
  • Nicolas Maduro
  • Argentina
  • Venezuela Elections

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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