President Lula's statement during 65th Mercosur Summit, in Montevideo

I congratulate President Lacalle Pou for organizing this Summit and leading the work of the Presidency of MERCOSUR throughout this semester. I salute colleague Luis Arce, who represents Bolivia for the first time as a MERCOSUR Member State. I also welcome President José Raúl Molino from Panama, which is now the first MERCOSUR Associated State in Central America. It is with satisfaction that we welcome among us the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

I highly commend the Uruguayan people for the elections that led Yamandú Orsi to the presidency of the Republic. In a context of heavy attacks against democracy in various parts of the world, Uruguay demonstrates that politics can be conducted without hate and violence.

President Lacalle Pou, this Summit has special significance. It marks the conclusion of the negotiations for the MERCOSUR-European Union Agreement, in which our countries invested significant political and diplomatic capital for almost three decades. We are creating one of the world’s largest free trade areas, encompassing over 700 million people. Together, our economies represent a GDP of 22 trillion dollars.

The Agreement we finalized today is very different from the one announced in 2019. The conditions we inherited were unacceptable. It was necessary to incorporate highly relevant topics for MERCOSUR into the Agreement. We managed to preserve our interests in government procurement, which will allow us to implement public policies in areas such as health, family farming, and science and technology. We extended the timeline for opening our automotive market, safeguarding the industrial sector's capacity for growth. We created mechanisms to avoid the unilateral withdrawal of concessions reached at the negotiation table. We are securing new markets for our exports and strengthening investment flows.

After two years of intense discussions, we now have a modern and balanced text that recognizes MERCOSUR's environmental credentials and reinforces our commitment to the Paris Agreements. The global geopolitical and economic reality demonstrates that integration strengthens our societies, modernizes our productive structures, and promotes our global insertion with greater competitiveness. Our external agenda is repositioning MERCOSUR in international trade. At the end of 2023, we concluded a trade agreement with Singapore, the first with an Asian country.

Today, we also lay the groundwork for future trade liberalization with Panama, through which 6% of global trade flows. With the United Arab Emirates, negotiations are advancing quickly and are expected to be concluded in 2025. The possibility of expanding economic and technological cooperation with China, Japan, Vietnam, and other Asian markets will benefit all MERCOSUR members.

Ladies and gentlemen, with Bolivia's accession, MERCOSUR becomes the seventh-largest economy in the world, with a combined GDP of almost 3 trillion dollars. Trade among us mobilizes the impressive sum of 55 billion dollars. Of this total, 75% corresponds to high-value-added products. Our agricultural and livestock strength makes us guarantors of food security for many countries worldwide, meeting strict sanitary and environmental standards. We will not tolerate attempts to besmirch the recognized quality and safety of our products.

MERCOSUR is an example that it is possible to reconcile economic development with environmental responsibility. Brazil is going to propose the launch of a cooperation program for low-carbon agriculture and the promotion of sustainable agricultural exports, the “Green MERCOSUR” (“MERCOSUL Verde”).

Our bloc has a historical opportunity to lead the energy transition and confront the challenges imposed by climate change. As exemplified by the floods in various regions of Bolivia, we have all suffered the devastating consequences of severe droughts, wildfires, and floods, with deep economic, social, and human impacts. Changes in precipitation patterns affect agricultural production, water resources, and biodiversity in every biome.

The impasses observed at COP 16 on Biodiversity in Cali and the difficulties in reaching a consensus text at COP 29 on Climate in Baku raise a red flag. There are no alternatives to Planet Earth. The principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" is essential for promoting climate justice. This does not prevent each one of us from contributing as we can to the goal of limiting the rise of global temperatures to one and a half degrees. Brazil has already presented its new Nationally Determined Contribution, which encompasses all greenhouse gases and economic sectors. We have taken on the ambitious goal of reducing emissions by 59% to 67% by 2035, compared to 2005 levels.

2025 will be a particularly important year. South America will host COP30 in Belém do Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon. This raises our level of responsibility. I invite MERCOSUR members, associated countries, and the European Union to present ambitious NDCs and to actively participate in the efforts that will lead to the full success of COP30.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A strong and united MERCOSUR is one that is interconnected with South America and the significant issues on the global agenda. The FOCEM projects are strategic in the effort to reduce asymmetries and promote greater proximity among our countries. This month, we obtained financial support approval for the Fund for the first Brazilian project in 12 years. The ring road in the municipality of Amambai, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, will strengthen connections with Paraguay. Brazil launched the project “Rotas da Integração Sul-Americana” (“South American Integration Routes”), with expected investments in 190 construction projects within the country and in the region. These routes aim to encourage development and reduce the time and cost of merchandise transportation between Brazil and its neighbors, connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific.

I would like to thank every MERCOSUR member state for participating in the G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro. We received significant support for the launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. Our joint action was crucial for the approval of a Call to Action on Global Governance Reform. Correcting the low representation of our region in the UN and the Bretton Woods organizations is essential.

Dear friends, MERCOSUR has a crucial element that gives it strength beyond its economic and commercial dimensions: its people. Our task is to ensure that integration is seen as an effective path toward the attainment and realization of rights. We must recover social participation in the bloc, which pioneered the incorporation of civil society in governmental debates. We advocate for strengthening the Social Institute as well as the Institute for Public Human Rights Policies. These bodies must not have their activities constrained under the pretext of resource conservation. Promoting gender equality, combating racism, fostering education, and advancing social justice are not expenses. They are investments in the human potential of our countries.

This is the model of integration we advocate: one focused on reducing inequalities, both within countries and between them. One that drives sustainable growth while upholding human rights and the rule of law. A model that, in the face of differences and challenges, fosters dialogue and cooperation. It was in this spirit that, 33 years ago, the father of President Lacalle Pou and the then-presidents of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay signed the Asunción Treaty, which remains instrumental in overcoming a past of authoritarianism in our region.

Freedom, in all its forms, is an essential component of a healthy democracy. But it must be linked to the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, as well as to the preservation of the political order itself. Full democracy is the foundation for promoting peaceful societies, free from fear and violence. May we hold onto, in MERCOSUR, the sense of justice and inclusion of Pepe Mujica. In a historic speech at the UN in 2013, he said, and I repeat: "I am from the South, I come from the South to this Assembly. I carry unequivocally the millions of poor compatriots, in the cities, in the deserts, in the jungles, in the pampas, in the depressions of Latin America, the homeland of all that is being created."

President Lacalle Pou, I wish you all the best in your new endeavors starting next March. I reiterate my welcome to colleague Orsi, assuring him that Brazil will continue to walk side by side with Uruguay. We wish success to Argentina's incoming presidency. MERCOSUR is, and will continue to be, a central component of Brazil's international integration. Count on us to strengthen it even further.

Thank you very much.