President Lula's speech at the opening of the Mercosur Heads of State Summit

Dear comrades present at this meeting. I'd like to start by greeting comrade Santiago Peña, President of the Republic of Paraguay. Comrade Luis Lacalle Pou, President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. Comrade Alberto Fernández, President of the Republic of Argentina. Our newest member, comrade Luis Alberto Arce, President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. My dear comrade Geraldo Alckmin, Vice-President of the Republic and Minister of State for Development, Trade and Industry. In fact, it was planned for you to stay longer in Brazil. I know you want to enjoy Rio de Janeiro and go swimming in the beach, perhaps in the late afternoon or early evening, so we decided to delay the meeting a little. Actually, the delay wasn't because of that. The delay was due to other problems.

Well, this is a farewell meeting, but it's also an arrival meeting. We have the farewell of comrade Alberto Fernández, from Argentina, who will leave the presidency of Argentina on the 10th, but we also have the arrival of a new president of Argentina. And he will read out, as if he were the Secretary General, everything that has happened during this period. The floor will then be opened for each comrade to speak. I was thinking 10 minutes, which I believe is enough time for each member to speak. I obviously can't limit your time because of the importance of your position as president of the countries you represent. You may speak more freely, there will be plenty of tolerance here.

Well, first of all, I want to tell you how happy I am to welcome you all here in Brazil. There will be a time when we will decide that Mercosur will be a longer meeting, so that we don't solve everything in a single day, that we can spend three or four days in a country, so that we can get to know the people and the country better.

You are in a location where I have never been before. This was part of a collaboration between us and the Rio de Janeiro government, particularly the city council. And this Museum of Tomorrow is something special; it's been up for a few years now, and this is my first visit; I had no idea it was so beautiful. It's quite lovely. I'm hoping to visit it before I leave Rio de Janeiro.

We will also need to talk about which Mercosur we prefer. As passengers in the positions we occupy, I believe we have to discuss what we can leave as an achievement or expectation for those who come after us. And what legacy will we leave in the work we do here? Each of you, when you take over the presidency, will do so with a great desire to do a lot. And then we realize that not everything we want happens the way we want. But one concrete fact is that we continue to make progress. I'm always optimistic, and my motto is "never give up," because there's nothing we can't accomplish, including this twenty-three-year-long attempt to reach an agreement with the European Union, but we must keep trying to reach an agreement with the European Union.

We have several important topics to discuss today. And I wanted to touch on a few of them.

I'm going to talk about the incentive situation. The situation between Venezuela and Guyana.

The international context and the role of Mercosur.

Bolivia's accession to the bloc, which was finally approved by the Brazilian House of Representatives and Senate.

What's new in the trade negotiations with Singapore. And we'll also discuss what happened in the agreement with the European Union.

What's also new is the resumption of the Social Summit because the Social Summit hasn't met since 2016 and it's come back together for this meeting. In the afternoon, we'll have four presentations representing the Social Summit.

In addition, the Special Declaration on Democracy, Training Integrity and Digital Environments was issued. You know Mauro, this is something that 'm not sure if it's already been considered, but Mercosur should look into and, perhaps, form a special group to discuss so-called artificial intelligence. Perhaps, with the new presidency, we could convene a group to discuss an issue of such magnitude and significance for our country's future.

This Summit begins on the back of two important milestones. The first is the debut of President Santiago Peña, who is joining the efforts for integration. The second is the presence of Luis Arce, who represents the newest member of the bloc. On a sad note, as I said at the beginning, the sad note today is the farewell of comrade Alberto Fernández.

I am personally saddened by our dear Alberto Fernández's departure, because we have a very important friendship, and I will never forget Alberto Fernández's gesture when he visited me at the Federal Police headquarters in 2018. Alberto, I'll never forget that gesture. And I will cherish it for the rest of our lives.

Well, comrade Alberto, who is ending his term in the next few days, has certainly been one of Brazil's greatest friends. In fact, I've had a relationship with Argentina for as long as I can remember. I remember, since the first president I met, Alfonsín, the president of Brazil has always had a very good relationship with Argentina. Even when Menem was president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso was president and the two of them were fighting over who was more friendly with the United States. Brazil's relationship with Argentina has always been good. So, Alberto, it's with great sadness, but I know the important role you played, the very important role you played during your time in office. Unfortunately, I think you deserved better luck, the economy could have had better luck, but the pandemic and the drought were unfortunate, and a lot of people here suffered.

We must thank you for the courageous way in which you sought to preserve the legacy of Celac and the legacy of Unasur. We were always sure that you were a good man, an honest man, a dignified man and a man whose greatest commitment was to defend the interests of the dear Argentine people. That's why your farewell is a sad one. For me, as your personal friend. But I hope we can continue our friendly relationship, because I'd like to tell you that I don't have friendships with you just because you are president. If any of you leaves the presidency and I meet you, anywhere in the world, I will treat you with the same respect, with the same affection, that I treat you with a mandate. Because my relationship is with the president, but above all it's a human relationship. I like people. I like to treat people well and I like my friendship to be eternal and forever. It's not a friendship for a mandate. I wanted you to know that this is how my relationship will be. You already know how it is, our dear president of Uruguay knows about the relationship, he knows that I had it, including with Sanguinetti, I had it with Tabaré, with Pepe Mujica and, in the same way, I'm sure that our relationship will be the same. After your term is over, I don't know how many re-elections you'll run for, if I meet you anywhere in Rio de Janeiro, I'll invite you so we can grab a surfboard and maybe go surfing on a Brazilian beach.

So, I'd like to touch on a subject that I believe is important to touch on, because there has been no explanation in the press for us holding a meeting and not discussing a subject that I don't want to go into detail about, but only that has been noted here. It's the Essequibo problem. You've all been following it, you're aware of the history, and we've been watching the Essequibo situation with increasing concern. Mercosur cannot continue to ignore this situation. As a result, I would like to submit for your consideration the draft declaration agreed upon by our foreign ministers by Mercosur member states on this dispute.

 I'd like to remind you of the declaration adopted on November 22 in Brasilia by South America's defense and foreign ministers, which reaffirms the region as a zone of peace and cooperation. We do not want this issue to taint the restart of the regional integration process or to pose a threat to peace and stability. I emphasize the importance of fully utilizing Celac's and Unasur's bodies in order to resolve this issue peacefully.

I propose that Celac's acting president, comrade Ralph Gonsalves, meet with both parties to discuss the situation. If deemed necessary, Brazil and Itamaraty will host as many meetings as are required.

Having said that, I'd like to state that we'll proceed with caution, because if there's one thing we don't want in South America, it's war. We do not require war or conflict. We need to build peace because only through peace can we develop our country, generate wealth, and improve the lives of the Brazilian people. If you agree, this note from our foreign and defense ministers could be approved here, and we could read it.

The second point I'd like to touch on is the international context and Mercosur's role. I returned from the COP-28 in Dubai with a strong sense of urgency about the climate issue. In fact, Uruguayans, Paraguayans, and Argentinians, I'd like to inform you that before I left, I convened a meeting to discuss all of Brazil's biomes. And what was my surprise, my dear Lacalle? At that meeting, I discovered that the pampas is a biome. As a result, I included the pampas in my discussion, along with the other five Brazilian biomes, so that we could have an international discussion. Because of the significance we place on the climate issue. When it comes to the famous energy transition and the climate issue, I believe we have a lot to teach the rest of the world.

The world is rapidly approaching a disaster scenario. I believe you are all aware that thirty years ago, we treated the environment with disdain. It was a question for intellectuals and academics, in other words, we never gave it the attention it deserved. Nature is now capturing our attention. Take note, because if you don't respect it, things will get faster and faster, stronger and stronger. And we, the intelligent members of the animal kingdom, are the only ones capable of destroying our natural habitat. So I believe that this responsibility to the environment is extraordinary, and we are already seeing the effects of climate change in our region. I never expected to see the world's largest rivers dry up. And I had no idea how many cyclones had recently hit the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. In other words, it has occurred in every other country, and we have made a serious commitment.

Floods and droughts have killed and destroyed many people and communities in our country. We are the continent with the world's largest rainforest, water reserves, and biodiversity. We are home to two of the world's five largest river basins: the Amazon and the Plata. Mercosur is also a strategic space for global issue coordination. Brazil will host COP 30 in two years, and I hope you will all be actively participating, as this will be the first time in history that the Amazon will be talking about itself. The Amazon is mentioned frequently in the world today; there isn't a debate anywhere on the planet where people don't mention the Amazon. As a result, this will be the first time the Amazon speaks for itself. The project that will lead us to the COP in Belém, Pará, involves Brazil's G20 presidency, which I assumed on December 1st. Now, it's critical that you address me, because I'm now president of the G20, and we're going to hold possibly the most important meeting ever, and I want to count on your support and participation, because we're going to have dozens and dozens of meetings, of many ministries, of many themes, and you know that all Mercosur and South American members will be our guests in building the success of this situation.

You are aware that our mission statement is "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet." To structure the work of the group, our presidency has three lines of action. The first is social inclusion, which includes fighting hunger and poverty. Second, there is the issue of energy transition and sustainable development. Third, there is a need for global governance reform. This, my dear comrades, and comrade Pea, who used to work at the International Monetary Fund, is an issue that has been bothering me for a long time, since the first mandate, and it is something that we must take very seriously. For starters, the UN's geopolitical representation cannot be the same as it was in 1945. We must evolve. We must even alter the form of representation. I've been telling people that whoever is a permanent member of the UN Security Council does not represent themselves or their country. They must represent the continent in which they compete. As a result, we require more work and more meetings in order to be more representative. Because without it, we will be unable to put any decisions made at the COP into action. You have a fantastic COP, hundreds of thousands of people attend, a slew of documents are approved, but none are implemented. And then there's another COP the following year, and another the year after that. In other words, we need environmental decisions that are almost universally implemented by all countries. Always keep in mind that it is the industrialized countries that have polluted the planet for the past 200 years, not the smaller countries. It is not a country that has only recently begun to industrialize. As a result, we'll need you a lot.

The Bretton Woods system, particularly the IMF and World Bank, must change its characteristics and function. They can't be suffocating banks because they don't lend money; instead, they lend a rope so that the person in need of money can hang themselves. Because it does not take into account the unique circumstances of each country. I'd just like to remind you that when I took over this country, we had a debt of 30 billion dollars, and every year, comrade Arce, you who are an economist, every year a couple of IMF economists came down here to Brazil, a country with 200 million people, two economists came down to check Brazil's accounts and tell us what we needed to do, how we were going to invest our money. Today, thank God, Brazil has solved this problem; Brazil does not owe the IMF; rather, Brazil is an IMF creditor, having lent it R$ 15 billion. And Brazil has prepared a reserve that will allow us to withstand even a locust plague like the one that has ravaged Brazil in the last four years without disrupting our economy.

So, we're going to discuss, we're going to need the wisdom of the economists, of the economy ministers of each South American country, of Mercosur, because we need to try to come up with a proposal. A proposal for how the financing banks will work. Africa today, and our friend Peña knows it well because he was in Guinea-Bissau for a while, Africa's debt seems to me to be US$ 860 billion. If there is no change, those countries will never stand a chance. And what are we seeing happen? Every month there is a coup d'état, an attempted coup. If we don't strengthen the democratic regime, I don't think we'll be able to achieve anything else. In this sense, this change is very important. I would like you to feel invited to participate in our G20 here in Brazil.

I'd like you to know that you'll be needed in the G20's construction. And I'd like to inform you that we would like to invite you to our BRICS meeting in 2025. So we have a busy international schedule, and if all goes well, the Women's World Cup will be held in 2027. I hope we don't suffer the same humiliation as in 2014, when we were beaten 7-1 by Germany. We didn't need any more humiliation.

Well, here we have our comrade Luis Arce, whose entry is a very important achievement for Mercosur. I think that Mercosur will now have 283 million people and a GDP of US$ 4.8 trillion. It's not just any GDP, folks. It's an important GDP. That's why I've been aware for many years, for many decades, that whatever presidents govern our countries, we have to have the idea that together we are stronger. Separately, we are weaker. This is a conviction I've had since before I became president the first time.

So, you know that, with Bolivia's entry, we are gaining not only a country, but also an important territory, a country that has gas, a country that has critical materials, many critical minerals, a lot of things, and an extraordinary culture. It has an exuberant culture and it's going to be part of our beloved Mercosur, now as a full member. It has a few things to do, it knows it still has to do them, but I think so too.

The other is that with the integration of Bolivia, we are effectively getting closer to realizing the dream of integration between the Atlantic and the Pacific. We are, right now, going to present it to the ministers of transport and planning of all the countries. Our minister, Simone Tebet, is going to present a program for structuring the connections between our countries and our continent. There are railroads, highways and waterways. And airports. She has a program that she's going to present today, Simone? Is she? É. And the news, which I can't talk about now, only in the afternoon, is that we're going to have a good amount of money so that we can finally fulfill this dream of our physical integration. It's very important. If you're here, maybe we can take part in this announcement together, this afternoon, at a meeting that will include the BNDES, Caixa, FONPLATA and the IDB.

Well, before I give the floor to Mauro, trade issues, the trade negotiations between the European Union and Singapore. Well, you know because something came out in the press about the effort we made to try to conclude this agreement during my presidency. I confess to you that I had a dream that during my presidency and the presidency of Pedro Sánchez, who is the political president of the European Union, we could conclude it. I had even invited him to come here, and I even invited Ursula von der Leyen to come here, so that we could conclude the agreement in the majestic way that I thought it could be done. And that I thought we deserved. I thought we deserved it. I've taken part in many meetings and every time I do, I never leave discouraged.

I'm leaving with the idea that we can do it next time. And I've talked to so many people, I don't think I've ever talked to so many people in the history of Mercosur. I spoke to almost all the presidents of the European Union; I spoke to the negotiators of the European Union; I spoke to the presidents of the lower countries, to all of them. Trying to show the need for us to make this agreement. I even spoke to Ursula von der Leyen in Dubai, I spoke to Macron, I appealed to Macron to stop being so protectionist, because that's not Macron's case. I'd already talked to Chirac, I'd already talked to Sarkozy, I'd already talked to François Hollande. All of them are protectionist when it comes to their agricultural products. They don't take into account that we have the right to participate in this sun. An extraordinary market that would help us. But in any case, it didn't work out.

Well, we inherited a version of this agreement from past governments, which you know. The version was unacceptable. Because it treated us as if we were inferior beings. I would even say that they treated us as if we were still colonized countries. With a lack of respect, even threats. That's when I went to Spain to talk to Pedro Sánchez, and I told him that the words in that additional letter they sent us were unacceptable. Later, they changed that letter, but they didn't change anything on the industrial issue. In other words, we don't have the right to be a slightly developed country. Everyone knew that the issue of government procurement is very important for a country to develop, and we can't open it up the way they wanted us to.

And I think some progress has been made. At the last meeting, I told Ursula von der Leyen to put her negotiator together with Mauro so that, at the meeting you were at yesterday, we could have something new to see if we could get it approved.
 Well, we already knew a bit about Argentina's position, which was public. We already knew Macron's position, who made a point of giving an interview to the press saying that there was no way of making an agreement, the whole thing. And I went on to say that I believed it was possible to reach an agreement. Because I believed that something new could happen at the meeting. Olaf Scholz, I met with him and he told me that he was going to talk to Macron to see if he could make the Frenchman's heart more flexible, but he didn't give any feedback, which means that he couldn't either.

We'll go here, Mauro will report back to us. I think the text we have now is more balanced than what was in the other government. But even so, I think it's insufficient. There is still a lot of resistance from Europe. They're very big. I find it strange that they don't have the flexibility to understand that we still have a lot to grow, that we still have the desire to industrialize. And that we just need to become more flexible, for them to buy something from us with greater added value. But they're still not sensitive to this. I think, dear comrade Peña, when you take over the presidency, don't ever give up, man. Don't give up. Fight, fight, fight. Because that's the way it is.

The European Union just needs to recognize the credibility of the data from our national deforestation monitoring and certification systems. I'm not going to be accountable to anyone for the things we do. We treat the environmental issue very seriously, very seriously. I have a public commitment that we will reach zero deforestation by 2030. It's a public commitment that I have and we're going to fulfill it. This year alone, we have already reduced deforestation by 49.7%. In just ten months. That means we're going to be very tough. By the way, speaking of being tough, Pena, I'd like to congratulate you on the behavior of your federal police, together with the Brazilian Federal Police, and also together with the Americans, to destroy the biggest arms smuggling gang I've ever heard of in our beloved South America. So, I'm congratulating you on the work of your federal police.

Well, we're also going to have an agreement with Singapore, which I don't know if you'll be here, if the signing will be with everyone.

But I think this free trade agreement between Mercosur and Singapore is a very important sign. It's the first agreement of this nature signed by Mercosur since 2011. It means that we are encouraged to continue believing that things will work out. This is the first free trade agreement signed by Mercosur with countries in Asia, one of the most dynamic regions in international trade. The agreement has the potential to stimulate the attraction of investment. In 2022, according to information from UNCTAD, Singapore was the eleventh largest global investor. So I think it's an important step. And then we're going to have the Social Summit. The Social Summit met here, more than 300 people took part, and they had stopped working from 2016 until now. We have recovered. I hope, Peña, that you can continue to recover, because these people represent what we have alive in our society. They're going to help us, because they're the workers, they're the health workers. So we should treat them with a lot of affection. We're going to have four of their members speak here. Five minutes each.

Then there's the issue, our sixth point here, which is the special declaration on democracy and information integrity in digital environments. This is a problem that I'm not sure how each country is dealing with internally. But this digital issue is very serious, and I don't think it can be solved by any single country; it will have to be a global decision. The presidents' declaration on democracy and information integrity in digital environments, which we will sign this afternoon, reaffirms the bloc's founding commitment to democracy. Every day, I have said that democracy must be cared for and preserved. To accomplish this, we must constantly monitor for new threats and update our regulatory mechanisms. We will arm ourselves to protect the right to free expression while combating hate speech, disinformation, and the abusive practices of large technology companies.

You already know what this means for the people of each of our countries. That is why I proposed forming this special committee to address the issue of artificial intelligence. Having said that, before we allow our presidents to speak, I would like our minister, Mauro Vieira, to read his report so that we can then allow our special guests to speak.

The floor is now in the hands of Mauro Vieira.