US President Joe Biden crosses his fingers as he meets with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb 10, 2023, in Washington. (PHOTO / AP)
WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden met on Friday with Brazilian leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a reboot of relations between the hemisphere's two largest democracies after the end of Donald Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro's stormy rule.
During the visit, Washington said it would work to provide support for a fund to protect the Amazon rainforest and Biden agreed to travel to Brazil, according to a joint statement released by Brazil, while the two leaders spoke of shared values in fighting climate change and protecting democracy against a rise in authoritarianism.
"We have to continue to stand up for democracy and our democratic values that form the core of our strength," Biden told Lula before a private Oval Office session between the leaders, adding that the two were on the "same page" about the "climate crisis."
Bolsonaro had enjoyed vocal support from former president Trump, a Republican, but Brazil's diplomatic relations cooled with other traditional allies during the far-right leader's presidency.
Bolsonaro flew to Florida two days before his term ended on Jan 1, having challenged the results of the Oct 30 runoff election that he narrowly lost to Lula. Days later a violent movement of election-denying Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court.
Biden and Lula agreed to work together on reforming the UN Security Council to include "permanent seats for countries in Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean"
Brazil "self-marginalized itself for four years" under the former president, Lula said at the White House, without mentioning Bolsonaro by name.
His world, Lula said, had "started and ended with fake news in the morning, afternoon, at night," prompting Biden to laugh and interject, "sounds familiar."
Lula said Brazil was trying to reposition itself in the world, and both countries should never again allow the kind of attacks like the one by Bolsonaro supporters last month or the one it echoed at the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021, that aimed to prevent the certification of Biden's 2020 victory over Trump.
Lula said the two leaders could also work together to combat inequality and climate change.
Biden and Lula did agree to work together on reforming the United Nations Security Council to include "permanent seats for countries in Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean," according to the joint statement.
Lula's visit to the White House followed a meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders and other lawmakers from Biden's Democratic Party.
Amazon support
Brazil's foreign ministry had said support for democracy, human rights and the environment would be at the center of Lula's agenda in Washington.
During the trip, Washington agreed to work with Congress to provide "initial support" for the Amazon Fund started by Germany and Norway to back protection of the rainforest and sustainable development projects, according to a joint statement that confirmed an earlier Reuters report.
The US is planning an initial donation of $50 million, according to a Brazilian source, underlining the resetting of ties between the two countries after the recent period of frosty relations. Brazil has been eager for more countries to contribute.
The new Lula administration signaled its commitment to protecting the Amazon rainforest this week by launching an enforcement operation against illegal gold miners that have devastated the Yanomami indigenous reservation in northern Brazil.
Bolsonaro had relaxed environmental protections, encouraging mining and logging in the Amazon that he said would help economic development and allowing deforestation in the region to hit a 15-year high.
At the White House, Lula said the Amazon rainforest had been "invaded" under the previous administration, adding that he was committed to reaching zero deforestation by 2030.
source https://netdace.com/latest-news/biden-lula-project-unity-on-democratic-values-climate-change/