Brazil traditionally opens the UN General Assembly in New York. Lula will be the first head of state to speak at a meeting that will last until September 25. The Brazilian will have to find the balance between his role as a spokesman for the global south and that of an interlocutor with major nations, especially since he has a meeting with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, explains Martin Bernard from Sao Paulo.
Another meeting on his agenda, this time for the first time, is scheduled for Wednesday with Volodymyr Zelensky. This is an important meeting after the failure of their meeting at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan in May. The meeting was officially canceled due to incompatibility of agendas, but relations between the two leaders are complicated.
Although he recently condemned the Russian invasion, Lula remains suspected of harboring pro-Moscow sympathies; Brazil has never imposed financial sanctions on Russia or supplied ammunition to Kiev, and the Brazilian president caused controversy in April when he said Washington should stop promoting “war” in Ukraine and that the European Union should “start talking about to talk peace.” The Lula-Zelensky meeting will therefore be one of the main focuses of this UN General Assembly.
Lula is still waiting for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council
Lula, who has just stopped in Cuba, will again call for the lifting of sanctions against Havana and defend African countries, without going into details. He called on his interlocutors from developing countries “not to divide”.
The head of state must beware of overly ideological rhetoric. Some young left-wing leaders, such as Chilean Gabriel Boric, have already publicly criticized him for his unwavering support for Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
And the decisive battle for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council remains: Lula will insist on this point again, even if the chances of success appear slim.