Speaking about the evolution of global trade, Lula mentioned the economic debates on free trade and criticized, without naming them, the shifts in major powers facing the rise of emerging economies. Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, currently on a tour in Europe, once again defended multilateralism in Lisbon on Tuesday, stating that Brazil wants to “have relations with China, the United States, Russia, or France,” without any preference. “As we are not in favor of a second Cold War (…), we do not have any commercial preferences,” affirmed the Brazilian president after a meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.
“We want to have relations with China, the United States, Russia, and France. We want relations with everyone without any preference. What we want is multilateralism and a lot of peace to be able to negotiate,” he added.
Referring to the evolution of global trade, Lula mentioned the economic debates on free trade and criticized, without naming them, the shifts in major powers facing the rise of emerging economies. In the 1980s, “they explained to us that free trade and globalization were the most fantastic thing and in Brazil we were rather against it,” as we were not competitive enough, he recalled.
“But when we started to become competitive (…), those who advocated for free trade became protectionist,” he continued.
The Brazilian head of state was then scheduled to meet with his Portuguese counterpart, José Seguro, for their first meeting since the latter took office in March. Outside the presidential palace, the leader of the Portuguese far-right, André Ventura, wearing a white T-shirt with his party’s logo, joined a small group of protesters on Tuesday to protest the visit of the Brazilian head of state, whom he accuses of “corruption.”
At the same time, a counter-demonstration in support of the Brazilian president was also held nearby, organized by the Portuguese section of the Workers’ Party (PT), Lula’s political party. The 80-year-old left-wing Brazilian president began a European tour last week, with stops in Spain and Germany.
