Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s speech and that of Joe Biden at the opening ceremony of the 78th United Nations General Assembly shared many similarities: they talked about hunger in the world, social inequality, extreme environmental events such as climate change and the need to democratize the UN and global governance as a whole. But a topic was approached in quite different terms by the two presidents: the Caribbean countries, particularly the embargo on Cuba.
“Brazil will continue to reject measures taken without support from the UN Charter, such as the economic and financial embargo imposed on Cuba and the attempt to classify this country as a state sponsor of terrorism”, said the Brazilian president this Tuesday (19) at the UN headquarters in New York City.
The mention of the embargo was made at the end of his speech, shortly before the American president took to the pulpit — the United States keep Cuba under a commercial and economic embargo for six decades and list the island as a sponsor of terrorism, which also affects Havana commercially.
“It was a slap in the face of the United States, the only topic that surprised me in Lula’s speech”, said to Brasil de Fato Paulo Velasco, a professor of International Politics at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). According to Velasco, the condemnation of the embargo by the UN Assembly is trivial. “But it’s different from the Brazilian president saying it to Biden’s face. I’m sure more judicious diplomats probably asked him to drop out this issue”.
It is worth noting that, before arriving in New York, Lula visited Havana to attend the G77+ China Summit, a multilateral meeting that gathers countries from the Global South and the biggest Asian economy. On the occasion, the embargo was a recurring topic.
To Tatiana Berringer, a professor of International Relations at UFABC, the fact that Lula mentioned the embargo shows “Brazil’s relative autonomy regarding the US”, a kind of “room for maneuver”. In other words, despite the good relationship between the two governments, Lula makes a point of affirming his condemnation of the embargoes, which generally affect populations more than governments. By doing so, Brazil positions itself as a representative of the global South. “It was a demonstration that Brazil is returning to the international stage defending its historical agenda”.
Joe Biden did not say anything about Cuba. However, he expressed concern about another Caribbean country, Haiti, which is facing a serious crisis that is causing much of its population to try to flee to avoid rampant violence. The American president, highlighting this issue with particular emphasis, advocated for sending a peace mission to the country and demanded a resolution from the UN Security Council.
“Haiti is of special concern for the US. Any problem there, people take boats to migrate”, says Velasco, recalling Minustah, the peace mission headed by Brazil in 2017, which did not solve Haiti’s structural problems. Perhaps for this reason, Lula talked about the topic very quickly, and within the context of other humanitarian issues.
“It is disturbing to see that old unresolved disputes remain and new threats emerge or become stronger. The difficulty of guaranteeing the creation of a State for the Palestinian people clearly demonstrates this. We can also mention the persistence of the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, the conflict in Yemen, the threats to the national unity of Libya and the institutional ruptures in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Niger and Sudan”, said the professor.
The main axis of Lula's speech, according to Tatiana Berringer, was inequality. After saying that the 17 sustainable development goals of the millennium, the so-called 2030 Agenda, must be addressed in an integrated and global approach, the Brazilian president stated that Brazil will work on an 18th agenda, focused on the racial issue. “This is important for Brazil’s international identity, to highlight its historical heritage, the presence of Black people in the formation of the country, and for relations with African countries”, she analyzes.
According to Berringer, Lula’s speech summarizes Brazil’s search for justice, equality, sovereignty and multilateralism, which are “historical and urgent agendas aligned to a progressive government, agendas we need in the current moment.”
Ukraine
All of the items mentioned above are part of the war in Ukraine, which Lula mentioned on two occasions. “The war in Ukraine exposes our collective inability to make the purposes and principles of the UN Charter prevail”, said Brazil’s president, who then argued that there will only be a lasting solution, one based on dialogue. He criticized the UN Security Council, particularly its permanent members, “who wage unauthorized wars in search of territorial expansion or regime change”.
The permanent members are Russia, which invaded Ukraine, but also the United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003, France, the United Kingdom and China. Of the five countries, only the US is represented by its maximum leader in this year’s General Assembly.
Brazil has a tradition of defending non-interventionism and negotiated solutions, which explains why the country always opens the UN General Assembly, says Berringer. In her opinion, this is what should happen in the bilateral meeting between Lula and the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, scheduled for this Wednesday (20). “What we can expect is a formal, diplomatic conversation from a state leader (Lula) who is ready to dialogue with all parties, who adopts a neutral stance and at the same time listens to all the sides. For me, it is a continuation of what has been done since January (when Lula took office), another step in this negotiation process”.
Paulo Velasco thinks that Zelensky will be “frustrated” with the conversation. “If there were any doubts, Lula’s speech clarified them. At this point, he [Zelensky] shouldn’t expect anything from Brazil.” The UERJ professor refers to the fact that Lula did not even mention Russia by name and criticized it in the same way as he criticized the entire UN Security Council.
“Brazil has tried to convince the parties that its diplomatic tradition is not to embrace either side. It's the same with Israel-Palestine. [About this issue] There is clearly an invader there, but that doesn't mean Brazil cut ties with Israel. Brazil understands that maintaining equidistance is the way to be a mediator. Maybe Lula will be able to convince Zelensky that this is what Brazil is, and it does not mean defending Russia”, ponders Velasco in an effort to glimpse some understanding between the two presidents at this Wednesday's meeting.
UN Security Council reform
Joe Biden showed a determined stance in defending Brazil's old demand, which is the expansion of the UN Security Council. He promised to do his part to make this happen and declared “We need more voices, more perspectives at the table.”
However, Velasco says this stance “won’t be fully complied, because when discussions advance, he doesn’t approve it.” He thinks Brazil has difficulties in making things happen regarding this issue, because “our projection of power is very limited”. Therefore, the speech ends up falling flat. “Multilateralism is not a whim, it is a necessity for Brazil because then the country’s impact has much greater repercussions”, he says. Hence the importance of Brics for Brazil.
