New Year Brings New Joy: US and Brazil Unites

Before the year ends, the US and Brazil plan for Biden to meet with his counterpart Lula in Washington.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the incoming president of Brazil, is expected to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House before assuming office on January 1, according to US officials and reports on Friday.

“I can confirm that we have a visit scheduled, “John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council, told reporters. “When the moment is right, we hope to host President Lula here.”

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, will fly to Brazil on Monday to meet with Lula and officials from outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro’s government, according to Adrienne Watson, another NSC spokesperson.

After serving two presidential terms from 2003 to 2011, veteran leftist Lula defeated far-right incumbent Bolsonaro in a tense race in October.

At a press conference in Brasilia, Lula stated that he and Sullivan would “have talks and discuss the date” for a trip to Washington, D.C., perhaps after December 12, the day his victory is formally recognized by Brazil’s election tribunal.

Since Biden beat former president Donald Trump in the 2020 US election, Bolsonaro’s political idol, relations between the US and Brazil have deteriorated.

But under Lula, ties appear to be warming.

One of the first heads of state to congratulate him on his victory was Biden.

We have a lot to say to each other, I believe “said Lula.

“The United States and Brazil both have issues with democracy. The harm Bolsonaro caused to Brazil is equivalent to what Trump did to the American democracy.”

The pointless Ukraine war, US-Brazilian relations, and Brazil’s place in the new geopolitics are among the diplomatic topics that will be discussed, according to Lula.

After four years of escalating deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon under agribusiness supporter Bolsonaro, the Biden administration will certainly be eager to address climate policy.

At the UN climate conference in Egypt last month, Lula made a commitment to work for zero deforestation in Brazil’s 60 percent share of the world’s largest rainforest, a crucial resource in the effort to halt climate change. Bolsonaro chose to skip the conference.

The incoming president announced that he would start appointing his cabinet members after December 12; the markets were particularly concerned about his choice for finance minister due to questions about how his administration would fund its campaign-promised social expenditures.

The White House said that Sullivan will travel to Brasilia on Monday with other NSC and State Department representatives.

President-elect Lula da Silva, Admiral Flavio Rocha, and Senator Jaques Wagner, an important ally of Lula, are among the people he will meet with, according to NSC spokeswoman Watson.

“Sullivan will talk about how the United States and Brazil can continue to cooperate to address shared challenges, such as combating climate change, ensuring food security, fostering inclusion and democracy, and managing regional migration,” according to the press release.