New York Mayor meets with Lula before the UN Assembly and calls the president a ‘great inspiration’

The mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, called President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a “great inspiration”, this Monday (21), in the first meeting between the two politicians, in New York, the day before the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).

“It was an honor to show how he [Lula] It was a great inspiration for many of us to defend workers, those who live in difficulty”, said the Democratic mayor.

Lula presented the mayor with a Corinthians t-shirt, while Mamdani gave a commemorative city t-shirt, made for the World Cup, to the president.

At the meeting, Lula asked about the main social problems in New York. Mamdani responded that the main problem is poverty and the cost of living. The city is the most expensive in the United States and the third most expensive in the world, and one in four residents lives in poverty.

Lula took the opportunity to criticize the increase in military spending by large companies to the detriment of the fight against hunger. “Right now, the world is spending trillions of dollars on weapons. Europe has re-armed itself, Japan has re-armed itself, all countries have invested in weapons, and almost nothing in education, almost nothing to fight hunger, to help the poor”, he stated.

The president also discussed the “importance of defending democracy and confronting extremism and disinformation around the world.”

Lula said he hopes Mamdani becomes a “soldier” in the fight against poverty. “As you are very young, I hope you are prepared to become a soldier to reduce poverty and the invisibility of the poor,” he said, and invited the mayor to visit Brazil.

Mamdani is one of Donald Trump’s main political opponents, but he will also meet with the president of the United States.

Lula and Trump do not have any scheduled meetings, but they may meet during the first speech session of the General Assembly, as Brazil traditionally opens the assembly’s plenary session, and is followed by the United States. Last year, when they met, Trump spoke of “excellent chemistry” with the Brazilian.