Under attacks by the US, Lula and South American chiefs deal with democracy on the 21st

Amid the series of attacks on sovereignty and Brazilian institutions by the United States government, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva participates, on Monday (21), in Santiago, a high-level meeting on defense of democracy.

Organized by Chilean President Gabriel Boric, the meeting will also be attended by the leaders of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi.

The event will consist of a reserved meeting among the presidents, followed by lunch and meeting with representatives of civil society, academic environment and reflection centers (think tanks).

Also read: Lula reaffirms that US interference in the Supreme Court is unacceptable and hurts sovereignty

Discussions will be organized around three central axes: defense of democracy and multilateralism; Fighting inequalities; and digital technologies and the confrontation of misinformation.

The activity follows the first high level meeting “in defense of democracy: fighting against extremism”, held on September 24, 2024, on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly, and convened by presidents Lula and Pedro Sánchez.

The second edition of the initiative meeting is scheduled to take place in September, in the context of the 80th High Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

US attacks

This Monday’s meeting was already scheduled before Donald Trump’s attacks against Brazil. But the theme, of course, will be central to the debates between the leaders. Even because such attacks link a warning signal to other South American nations, which may, at any time, see their sovereignty at risk for arbitrary actions of US imperialism.

In recent weeks, the US president has intensified the attacks against Brazil. The main one refers to the application of a 50% rate for the products exported to the US, under the extortionary argument of forcing Brazilian institutions to suspend the process by the Supreme Court (STF) against Jair Bolsonaro and their nearby supporters, in a clear affront to national sovereignty.

In addition, Trump invested against Pix, arguing that the payment modality developed by the Brazilian Central Bank would configure a “unfair practice” in the commercial sphere. And this Friday (18), the US government decided to revoke visas from the Supreme Court Minister (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, his family and “allies in the court.”

With agencies