Brazil is tired of being treated like a poor and small country, says Lula in Germany

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened, this Monday morning (20), the Brazilian pavilion at the Hannover Industrial Fair, in Germany, where he reaffirmed that Brazil can make important leaps in its development in a sustainable way, as it has the cleanest energy matrix in the world, and become a global power in the energy transition.

Lula highlighted that Brazil “is tired of being treated as a poor and small country”, on a “path of development”, as a “third world” and of being “treated as invisible”. “We are a great nation, we have 215 million inhabitants, we have a reasonably stable economy and we have gained a lot of credibility in recent years,” he added.

For the president, the fair gives Brazil the opportunity to say that “it wants to become a rich economy”. “We have a good intellectual base, we have a good technological base, we have extraordinary companies like Petrobras, we have companies like Embraer, which is the third largest aircraft producer in the world”, he added.

The president also spoke about the need for development to take place on a sustainable basis, so that the world can face the climate crisis.

“Brazil is the country with the cleanest energy matrix in the world from the point of view of electrical energy — almost 90% of our energy is renewable. We are large producers of biodiesel and ethanol. We have 30% ethanol mixed in our gasoline and 15% biodiesel mixed in our diesel. Our fuel already emits less (pollutants)”, he considered, highlighting that the country “will be a global power in the energy transition and in the supply of renewable fuel to the world”.

Conflated scenario

Lula also dedicated part of his speech to the current moment experienced worldwide, marked by wars, lack of dialogue, imperialist actions and the misuse of digital technologies to disseminate fake news and hate speech, especially by the extreme right.

“Right now the world is in conflagration, multilateralism is being destroyed and what was the harmony established after the Second World War is being thrown away”.

Without naming names, but in a clear message to US imperialism, Lula said that “they are making technological strength, weapons strength or GDP strength the drivers of negotiations between powerful countries and small countries. It is not possible that we are unaware that we need to change this global situation.”

Lula said that his presence in Germany is also a way of drawing attention to the need to overcome this situation, involving “all those who defend multilateralism; who do not want war, but peace; who want to build and not destroy; for all those who want to defend life and not death, for all those who think about the future of human humanity”.

Find out more about Lula’s trip to Europe:
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The risk that the extreme right brings to democracy is not rhetorical, it is real, says Lula
No president has the right to impose rules on other countries, says Lula

When using the expression “human humanity”, the president highlighted that it was a way of warning about the fact that “humanity is becoming an algorithm”. The digital revolution, he continued, “is inducing humanity to behave completely differently from what human beings were created for: living in community and harmony”.

The president also highlighted that “the era of truth has passed. We are living in the era of fake news. The era in which the less truth you speak, the more important you become. And the world cannot be run by lies. The world cannot be run to the extent that someone thinks they are more important than others, and makes decisions to impose themselves on the world as if the world did not exist democratically.”

Lula also spoke about the historical relationship between Brazil and Germany and the fact that the immigration of various peoples has built Brazilian identity. “We are a country created by immigrants along with indigenous people and black people. Therefore, we have nothing against immigration. Those who want to come to our country to work and to help us produce are welcome. Those who want to defend democracy, multilateralism and peace are welcome.”

Presidential agenda
President Lula arrived in Hannover on Sunday (19), was received by Prime Minister Friedrich Merz and participated in the opening of the fair. In his speech, he signaled his intention to close several commercial partnerships with Germany. The event brought together authorities, business leaders and representatives of strategic sectors from both countries.

Lula also addressed the public policies for the industry implemented during his administration, which encourage the arrival of foreign companies and present a favorable scenario for investments; demonstrated its concern about the human, social and economic impacts of the escalation of armed conflicts around the world and resumed the agenda in defense of multilateralism and the reform of international organizations.

Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of the energy transition and clean energy and spoke about the exploration of critical minerals, among other points.

During the visit to Germany, Brazil is expected to sign around ten agreements, in addition to announcing initiatives and partnerships in areas such as defense, artificial intelligence, innovation, infrastructure, climate research, energy, bioeconomy, circular economy, climate financing and technological cooperation.
Before arriving in the country, Lula was in Spain, where he participated in the Global Progressive Mobilization and the 4th High-Level Meeting of the Forum in Defense of Democracy.

This Tuesday (21), Lula will be in Lisbon, where he will meet Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and President António José Seguro. Lula is expected to arrive in Brazil on Thursday (23).

Hannover Fair
The Hannover Industrial Fair takes place from April 20th to 24th and is considered the largest innovation and industrial technology fair on the planet. In this edition, Brazil is the event’s official partner country.

The Brazil Pavilion in Hannover brings together companies, institutions and government representatives in a space of 2,660 m², distributed across six thematic areas: energy transition, hydrogen, digitalization, advanced industry, circular economy and artificial intelligence.

The Brazilian delegation to the event totals 270 members, being considered the largest in the country ever sent to this fair. In total, 140 Brazilian companies and another 300 are represented in the delegation.