DECRYPTION – Re-elected on Sunday, Lula said he would speak with the Russians and Ukrainians to try to end the war.
Brazil will cultivate its ties with Russia. Because, if Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, elected president on Sunday evening, and Jair Bolsonaro have diametrically opposed positions on the international scene, they nevertheless find themselves on one point: their indulgence vis-à-vis Vladimir Poutine in the name of his non- traditional alignment.
The leader of the left wants to restore the largest country in Latin America to a respected player on the world stage after four years of diplomatic isolation and controversy under the mandate of Jair Bolsonaro. But it is unlikely that Brazil, which has weakly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and refrained from voting for international sanctions, will make a diplomatic about-face.
Brazil’s isolation
The former president (2003-2010) had said that, if elected, he would speak with the Russians and Ukrainians to try to end the war. But the icon of the Latin American left also strongly criticized Western sanctions against Moscow, “a weapon of war too…