Speech by President Lula at the G7 working session

I want to thank Prime Minister Kishida for inviting Brazil to participate in the outreach segment of the Hiroshima Summit.

This is the 7th time I have been invited to a G-7 meeting.

The last time I was attending this forum, at the L'Aquila Summit in 2009, we were facing a global financial crisis of catastrophic proportions, which led to the creation of the G-20 and exposed the fragility of the dogmas and mistakes of neoliberalism.

The reforming impetus of that moment was insufficient to correct the excesses of market deregulation and the apology of the minimal State.

The international financial architecture has changed little and the foundations of a new economic governance have not been launched.

There were important setbacks, such as the weakening of the multilateral trading system. The protectionism of rich countries gained strength and the World Trade Organization remains paralyzed. No one remembers the Doha Development Round.

Challenges piled up and escalated. Each threat we do not face produces new urgencies.

The world today is experiencing the overlapping of multiple crises: the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, geopolitical tensions, a war in the heart of Europe, pressures on food and energy security and threats to democracy.

To face these threats, there needs to be a change of mentality. It is necessary to debunk myths and abandon paradigms that have collapsed.

The global financial system must be at the service of production, work and employment. We will only have real sustainable growth by directing efforts and resources towards the real economy.

The external debt of many countries, which afflicted Brazil in the past and today devastates Argentina, is the cause of blatant and growing inequality, and requires from the International Monetary Fund an approach that considers the social consequences of adjustment policies.

Unemployment, poverty, hunger, environmental degradation, pandemics and all forms of inequality and discrimination are problems that demand socially responsible responses.

This task is only possible with a State that induces public policies aimed at guaranteeing fundamental rights and collective welfare.

A State that promotes the ecological and energy transition, green industry and infrastructure.

The false dichotomy between growth and environmental protection should be overcome by now. The fight against hunger, poverty and inequality must return to the center of the international agenda, ensuring adequate financing and technology transfer.

We already have a multilaterally agreed compass for this: the 2030 Agenda.

We have no illusions. No country can face today's systemic threats alone.

The solution does not lie in the formation of antagonistic blocs or in responses that include only a small number of countries.

This will be particularly important in this context of transition to a multipolar order, which will require profound changes in institutions.

Our decisions will only be legitimate and effective if taken and implemented democratically.

It makes no sense to summon emerging countries to contribute to solving the “multiple crises” that the world is facing without addressing their legitimate concerns, and without them being adequately represented in the main institutions of global governance.

The consolidation of the G-20 as the main forum for international economic concertation was an undeniable advance. It will be even more effective with a composition that dialogues with the demands and interests of all regions of the world. This implies more adequate representation of African countries.

Coalitions are not an end in themselves, and serve to leverage initiatives in plural spaces such as the UN system and its partner organizations.

Without a Security Council reform that includes new permanent members the UN will not regain the effectiveness and the political and moral authority to deal with the conflicts and dilemmas of the 21st century.

A more democratic world in decision-making processes that affect everyone is the best guarantee of peace, sustainable development, the rights of the most vulnerable and the protection of the planet.

Before it is too late.

Thank you very much.