The World Economic Forum will invite President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to its annual event, which will take place in Switzerland’s Davos ski resort in January. The aim is to give the new president a central stage to present his government and foreign policy project to the world. If accepted, the Brazilian risks rising to one of the main stars of the 2023 event.
In the meeting with the UOL report, the highest summit of the Forum confirmed that the invitation will be held in the coming days. There was fear that President Jair Bolsonaro would plunge the country into a political crisis by not admitting his defeat. But Tuesday’s speech, however brief, opened the door to a transition, according to Davos.
“Everything indicates that we will not repeat the Trump scenario,” said one of the organizers of one of the world’s most important events, referring to the former American president’s refusal to admit defeat and create a crisis in the United States.
Davos’ invitation is the second invitation to an international summit, even before Lula took office. This week, UOL announced that the Egyptian government and the host of the UN Climate Summit are also asking Brazil to attend the meeting in the Arab country within two weeks.
In January, the hope of the heralds of world capitalism is to hear from Lula about his plans to strengthen, weaken and question the economy, environment and international institutions.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in at the time, was welcomed at the ski resort in an atmosphere of distrust and curiosity, after the sharp fluctuation in the financial markets in the face of the 2003 elections.
Back then, markets feared a government that might withdraw from the financial world. But in his first speech, Lula offered dialogue, assured that he would not attack capitalism, and softened his speech.
Davos officials who attended that event 20 years ago recall these statements as comforting.
In his debut, Lula said what the world’s financial elite wanted to hear: “he would make profound economic, social and political reforms, respect contracts and restore economic stability”. She didn’t neglect to send a message. “Here in Davos, it is customary to say that today there is only one God: the market. But market freedom requires above all the freedom and security of citizens,” he said.
At the time, however, the speech was interpreted as a clear sign that neither expropriations nor confrontation with multinationals, or even questioning the financial system, would take place.
Lula also made an unprecedented gesture: within days he joined the Porto Alegre Social Forum and his counterpoint in Switzerland. She promised activists in the South that she would take her social agenda to the “capital owners”.
CEOs of major banks like Citibank praised the 2003 speech and the then-president’s gesture. U2 vocalist Bono went so far as to say that Lula transformed Davos and placed the social agenda in the event.
But there was some resistance among some of his supporters. Portugal’s former president, Mario Soares, went so far as to say that there was no reason for the Swiss event to continue. “This Forum has been in existence for over 30 years and is out of date,” he said.
In 2010, Lula received the statesman of the year award given by the Forum. However, he did not participate to receive the award. Years later, he would accuse Davos of not doing his part to avoid a world crisis.
Bolsonaro’s endless 6 minutes at Davos
But at Davos, everyone remembers how Bolsonaro left many in shock when he delivered a mere 6-minute speech on the Forum’s main stage in January 2019. At the time, the Brazilian delegation, along with Paulo Guedes and Sergio Moro, tried to show behind the scenes and in closed meetings that the newly sworn president would bring “professional” management.
But with Bolsonaro’s presence, meetings and meetings have become unusual events in world diplomacy.
The Brazilian made an inappropriate joke during one of his meetings with Shinzo Abe, the then Japanese prime minister. After a few seconds of silence and the translators’ comments, Abe laughed. Enough to put everyone in the room at ease.
At the same meeting, Bolsonaro tried to show that he was still “popular” and chose to have his lunch on a tray. He did not reveal that he was actually staying at one of the most expensive hotels in town.
It was even caught on camera recording an embarrassing conversation between former US president Al Gore and the Brazilian about the Amazon. Bolsonaro again angered the foreign press by not attending the press conference he called.
Bolsonaro and Guedes spoke at a meeting with CEOs from around the world. But the Minister of Economy would have to leave for other meetings. Seeing that he would be alone with the businessmen, the president called General Augusto Heleno to prevent Guedes from leaving him at the door of the room. The minister has returned.
At a breakfast in Davos by the Bolsonaro delegation, witnessed by the columnist, federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro questioned other members of the table whether the word “billionaire” was spelled with or without the letter agá.
A voice just answered: see if the red line of his vehicle appears.
source: Noticias
