Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), of Brazil, and Emmanuel Macron, of France, condemned this Tuesday (27) the military action by the United States that arrested Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, at the beginning of the year. The conviction came during a call between the two leaders earlier.
According to a statement from Palácio do Planalto, the conversation lasted about an hour in which they also spoke about the Peace Council proposed by the North American president, Donald Trump.
“We exchanged views on the situation in Venezuela. By condemning the use of force in violation of international law, we agree on the importance of peace and stability in South America and the world”, said Lula about the conversation.
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On the other hand, regarding Trump’s initiative strongly criticized by Lula last week, the two leaders were opposed and preached a “strengthening” of the United Nations (UN).
“In this regard, we defend the strengthening of the United Nations and agree that initiatives on peace and security must be aligned with the mandates of the Security Council and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter”, continued Lula.
Last Friday (23), Lula accused Trump of wanting to “create a new UN” in which “he is the sole owner”. This Monday (26), he and the leader of the United States spoke about the Council in which the PT member asked for the inclusion of Palestine in the plan and for the body to only deal with the war in Gaza.
Still on the call with Macron, Lula once again tried to convince him of the benefits that the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union will bring to the countries. France has been acting against the partnership due to strong pressure from farmers, who fear losing market share with the entry of cheaper food from the South American bloc into the French market.
“I reaffirmed that the MERCOSUR – European Union Agreement is positive for both blocs and constitutes an important contribution to the defense of multilateralism and rules-based trade”, pointed out the Brazilian president.
The agreement was signed by the two blocs on January 17th, but was judicialized by the European Parliament, which could delay the start of implementation of the new tariff rules. In parallel, the Brazilian government is trying to mobilize Congress to approve the internalization of the agreement to apply the standards, even partially.
Lula also mentioned that he spoke with Macron about bilateral cooperation between France and Brazil, especially on defense, science and technology and energy issues. “We commit to instructing the technical teams to finalize the ongoing negotiations, with a view to concluding agreements in the first half of 2026”, he added.
