In Africa, Lula criticizes extreme right, talks about expanding partnerships and says Brazil has a 'historic debt' to the continent

Lula took part in a meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In a speech, Lula also condemned attacks by Hamas and called Israel's response 'disproportionate'. He also advocated the formation of a global alliance against hunger.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) gave a speech during the 37th African Union summit on Saturday (17) in Ethiopia. In his speech, the Brazilian president criticized the extreme right, said he intends to expand partnerships with African countries and stated that Brazil has a "historical debt" with the continent due to the 300 years of slavery in the country.

The African Union brings together 55 countries from the continent and, in 2023, became a permanent member of the G20 - a group that brings together the world's largest economies, responsible for more than 80% of the global economy.

In his speech, Lula called for the reorganization of global governance, to increase the representation of African and Latin American countries, and said that the "racist and xenophobic" far right will not be able to solve world crises.

"Without the developing countries, it will not be possible to open a new cycle of global expansion that combines growth, reduction of inequality and environmental preservation with the expansion of freedoms," said Lula.

"The global South is becoming an unavoidable part of the solution to the main crises afflicting the planet. Crises that are the result of a model that concentrates wealth and that hit the poorest the hardest. And among them, immigrants. The alternative to the ills of neoliberal globalization will not come from the racist and xenophobic far right," added the Brazilian leader.

Before attending the African Union summit as a guest, Lula met with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Shtayyeh.

According to the Planalto Palace, during the meeting with the Palestinian, Lula condemned attacks by Hamas and reiterated the need for peace in the Middle East, with the creation of a Palestinian state. According to the Brazilian government, Shtayyeh thanked Lula for his solidarity with the Palestinian people.

A meeting with António Guterres was scheduled for Saturday, but did not take place because the UN secretary-general canceled his trip to Ethiopia.

Also on Saturday, Lula will have other bilateral agendas and will attend a dinner hosted by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

In his speech, Lula also said that, as president, he wants to expand diplomatic and trade relations so that Brazil and Africa can grow "together".

Lula defended the formation of a "global alliance" against hunger, a Brazilian proposal during the presidency of the G20. And also partnerships in the areas of education, health and science and technology.

"We're going to work together to make Africa independent in food production and clean, renewable energy," he said. Lula pointed out that he has traveled to the African continent more than 20 times throughout his life. In his third term, this is the second time he has visited Africa.

"Brazil has always looked at the world without seeing the African continent. For many centuries, Brazil was governed looking at the United States and Europe. And Brazil didn't even see South America, let alone the African continent," he said.

Brazil owes Africa a 'historic debt. At the end of his speech, Lula said that Brazil doesn't have "all the money" and "scientific and technological knowledge" that he would like it to have, but that the country wants to "share" what it has with African countries. "Because we have a historical debt of 300 years of slavery and the only way to pay it is with solidarity and a lot of love," he said. Lula pointed out that "more than half of the 200 million Brazilians recognize themselves as people of African descent".

Lula spoke after the Palestinian representative at the African Union meeting. In his speech, the Brazilian president once again condemned attacks by the terrorist group Hamas on Israel, but called the Israeli response to the attacks "disproportionate", with the death of thousands of civilians. For Lula, the crisis in the Middle East will only be resolved with the creation of a "sovereign" Palestinian state and a "full member" of the United Nations (UN).

Still on the subject of international conflicts, Lula mentioned the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been going on for more than two years. He advocated a reform of the UN Security Council - with the inclusion of more developing countries and an end to the power of veto - in order to mediate disputes, and said that only politics and diplomacy will solve wars.

Lula said that, as president of the G20, Brazil will "support" discussions on the Global Digital Compact at the United Nations. For Lula, artificial intelligence "cannot become a monopoly of a few countries and companies", nor can it become "fertile ground for hate speech and disinformation".

"[Artificial intelligence cannot] cause unemployment and reinforce racial and gender biases, which accentuate injustices and discrimination," he said. "We hope to contribute to effective, multilateral governance in artificial intelligence that fully incorporates the interests of the Global South," said Lula. He also said that, together with African countries, he intends to "develop and build a family of satellites to monitor deforestation".

"The imperative to protect the two largest tropical forests in the world, the Amazon and the Congo, makes us protagonists in the climate agenda. The international instruments that exist today are insufficient to effectively reward the protection of forests, their biodiversity and the people who live there," he said. "With the recovery of degraded areas, we can create a real green belt to protect the forests of the global south," he added.