Press statement by President Lula following bilateral meeting with president of Bolivia Luis Arce

I want to start by thanking President Arce for receiving me at this time when Bolivian institutions have shown their value in the face of a serious threat.

Fifteen years after I was last in Bolivia as president, my visit symbolizes more than the resumption of a friendly relationship.

It also represents the communion of two countries whose paths share important parallels.

Just as in Brazil, Bolivian democracy prevailed after a long trajectory punctuated by coups and dictatorships.

What we thought was the end of that path, however, proved to be still unstable ground.

The year 2022 was the bicentenary of Brazil’s independence—and one of the darkest moments of its history.

Instead of celebrating, we were overcome by a wave of extremism that culminated on January 8.

The Bolivian people had already tasted this bitter taste during the 2019 coup d'état and are now affected by the June 26 attempt.

On the eve of celebrating its bicentenary in 2025, Bolivia cannot fall into this trap again.

We cannot tolerate authoritarian deliriums and coup plots.

We have an enormous responsibility to defend democracy against attempts to overthrow it.

All over the world, the lack of unity among democratic forces has greatly favored the extreme right.

The recent examples of France and the United Kingdom demonstrate the imperative of overcoming differences in favor of a common goal.

This also applies to regional integration.

The stronger our partnership, the less opportunity there will be for those who preach division.

The good functioning of Mercosur, which now has the pleasure of welcoming Bolivia as a full member, contributes to common prosperity.

We also hope to be able to welcome Venezuela back as soon as possible.

The normalization of Venezuelan political life means stability for all of South America.

Therefore, we hope that the elections will go smoothly and that the results will be recognized by everyone.

Bolivia and Brazil are in the South American heartland. This region’s physical and energy integration necessarily goes through our countries.

Bolivian engagement is key to completing the set of routes that Brazil has called the Rondon Quadrant [Quadrante Rondon].

With the construction of the binational bridge over the Mamoré River, transporting goods will become cheaper, benefiting especially the states of Beni and Pando (in Bolivia) and Rondônia and Acre (in Brazil).

Brazilian proposals to improve navigability on the Tamengo channel and the Paraguay River are also efforts to facilitate our connection.

Bolivia is still Brazil's main supplier of natural gas.

We talked about the possibility of expanding investments in this area and of increasing exports to the Brazilian market.

Brazil also imports fertilizers from Bolivia. We want to strengthen this partnership by implementing a nitrogen factory between Corumbá and Puerto Quijarro.

I congratulated Bolivia for choosing to invest in biofuels and reiterated Brazil's willingness to share its experience and technology to contribute to Bolivia's just transition.

Critical minerals will also be at the center of this transition.

Bolivia harbors large reserves of lithium, while Brazil has rare soils, niobium and cobalt, among others. Not long ago, the third largest manganese deposit on the planet was discovered on Brazilian soil.

As Eduardo Galeano said, gold from Minas and silver from Potosí flowed through the open veins of Latin America to enrich other parts of the world.

Together, we can insert ourselves in a sovereign manner into the value chains of strategic resources and stop this history of plunder in our continent.

In addition to our excellent bilateral relationship, Bolivia and Brazil share convergent world views, making us natural partners on various topics.

The priority given to reducing inequality and promoting food security is one of them.

Therefore, I made a point of inviting Bolivia to participate in the G20 Summit in November and to join the Global Alliance to Combat Hunger and Poverty that will be launched by the Brazilian presidency.

President Arce also expressed Bolivia's interest in joining the BRICS.

We will continue to discuss the group’s expansion at the Kazan Summit in Russia, in October. Brazil sees the inclusion of Bolivia and other countries in our region as very positive.

We share with Bolivia our longest border —it is 3400 kilometers long — and two of our most important biomes: the Amazon and the Pantanal.

Unfortunately, climate change and organized crime respect no limits.

I told President Arce that we already have excellent cooperation in the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization and that we can also work together to fight the fires in the Pantanal.

Today we signed several projects to strengthen the capacity of public agents to combat human and drug trafficking and improve migration management.

We also began negotiations to enable Brazilian citizens to access public health in Bolivia just as Bolivians can use the Unified Health System in Brazil.

We discussed the importance of ensuring legal security for Brazilians in Bolivia, so that they can continue to contribute to the economic development of the country.

The Federal Police and the Bolivian Consulate in São Paulo are working together to regularize the migratory situation of the thousands of Bolivians who have contributed so much to boosting our economy and enriching our culture.

It is this spirit of exchange and cooperation that guides the relationship between Brazil and Bolivia. I am sure that our dialogue and friendship will grow and bring us closer and closer.