September 20, 2023

10:09

Jefferson Ramos – From Cenarium Amazon Agency

MANAUS (AM) – While former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) used speeches at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to reinforce anti-left rhetoric, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) took advantage of the global exposure at the UN pulpit to show results from nine months in the environmental area and criticize economic inequality in the world, in addition to demanding that platform applications not eliminate labor laws.

Lula’s speech on Tuesday 19th contrasts with the tenor of Bolsonaro’s speeches at the UN. On the four occasions he has spoken at the institution, Bolsonaro has asked for support from the international community to combat alleged ‘Christophobia’ and gender ideology, a term used by the ultra-right to refer to the LGBTQIAPN+ population.

In his last speech to the General Assembly as president, in September 2022, Bolsonaro defended economic freedom, freedom of expression and religion and opposed abortion, stating that he is in favor of life from conception.

Moral agenda

“It is essential that everyone has the right to freely profess and practice their religious orientation, without discrimination. The defense of the family, the right to life from conception, self-defense and the rejection of queer theory are important agendas for brazilians”, Bolsonaro said.

At the time, the former president was campaigning for re-election. He used part of his speech to emphasize the artificial reduction in petrol prices at the cost of state revenue and deflation, which was caused by the population not being able to consume.

In the environmental area, faced with high deforestation figures in the Amazon, Bolsonaro claimed that 80% of the Amazon rainforest still remained intact.

“Two-thirds of Brazilian territory remains with native vegetation that is exactly as it was when Brazil was discovered in 1500. In the Brazilian Amazon, an area equivalent to Western Europe, more than 80% of the forest remains untouched, contrary to what is reported by the national and international mainstream media”, he claimed.

Twenty years later

This is Lula’s eighth speech at the UN, the first in his third term. Unlike the reception given to Bolsonaro, the audience applauded the president at least three times.

In the environmental area, Lula announced to the international community that in the first nine months of his government, Brazil reduced illegal deforestation by 48%. He also stressed that the country is carrying out operations against environmental crimes in the Amazon.

The most applauded moment was when he criticized global inequality and hunger. Lula blamed the ‘ideology of the minimal state’ for the lack of opportunities faced by young people.

“Governments need to break the growing dissonance between market’s voice and the voice of the streets. Neoliberalism has exacerbated the economic and political inequality that plagues democracies today. Its legacy is a mass of underprivileged and excluded people. In the midst of its rubble, extreme right-wing adventurers are emerging who deny politics”, he said.

Luiz Inácio also pledged to be rigorous in defending the rights of LGBTQIAPN+ citizens, as well as fighting femicide.

Read more: At the UN, Lula says climate change and inequality are major global challenges