MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula promises Maduro that integration “will be full”

Lula plans to promote the de-dollarization of South American economies during Tuesday's Summit

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Monday told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro at the Planalto Palace that the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two countries “will be full.” Maduro, who seldom travels abroad, is in Brasilia to attend Tuesday's Summit of South American leaders hosted by the continent's largest country.

“We know the difficulties we have, we know Venezuela's debt and we know that all this is part and will be part of an agreement for our integration to be full,” Lula was quoted as saying by Agencia Brasil.

During his speech, Lula recalled that Maduro had not been to Brazil for eight years and referred to the meeting as a “historic moment” and a “return of integration,” Lula said.

“Venezuela has always been an exceptional partner for Brazil. But because of political contingencies and misunderstandings, President Maduro went eight years without coming to Brazil,” he added.

“I think that this new time that we are marking now will not overcome all the obstacles that you [Maduro] have suffered over these years,” he went on. “The prejudice against Venezuela is still very big.”

In his speech, Maduro reinforced the discourse of regional integration, defended the construction of what he called a new South America, and theorized about Venezuela's entry into the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). “Together with the BRICS, we see, in the geopolitical sphere, elements that can move us forward. The union of five very powerful countries.”

“The BRICS is becoming a great magnet for those who seek a world of peace and cooperation,” Maduro insisted.

“The new geopolitics is characterized by two elements: the unity of our America in diversity and the role of the BRICS,” the Venezuelan leader went on.

“I am in favor of Venezuela joining the BRICS. We are going to meet soon and we have to evaluate several integration requests,” said the Brazilian president. “We are going to meet soon and we have to evaluate several integration requests.” Argentina, a country with strong economic ties with China and Brazil, has already applied to join BRICS in September 2022.

“If you ask Venezuela if at some point we want to be part of the BRICS, Venezuela says yes, we would like to be part of the BRICS and participate in the construction of this new architecture and world politics,” he commented from Brasilia.

Lula recalled that an extremist model was applied to Venezuela according to the right-wing ideology and is still being applied. From Brazil all doors and windows were closed and an attempt was made to invade by recognizing a non-existent government, he added.

“Hopefully no one will ever again close the doors between Brazil and Venezuela,” President Maduro stressed. He also reaffirmed that his country is ready to receive investments and business from Brazil. “For centuries and centuries the peoples of South America have denied us, that is why we are working on the construction of a new world geopolitics where the union of Latin America as a single people prevails”, declared the Venezuelan president. “We have 4 years with lack of communication between the military bodies on the border of Brazil and Venezuela,” Maduro also said.

“I dream of having a common currency for our countries to use in transactions so that we can be independent of the dollar. It cannot be that we cannot have more freedom to conduct our business. I dream of the BRICS having its own currency like the European Union has the euro,” Lula said.

In the Brazilian President's view, Venezuela could conduct its trade with currencies of other states “because of the United States” imposed embargo. “In wars, soldiers die on the battlefield, but if it is an embargo we are talking about, children die, women die, big people die, who have no relation to political disputes,” Lula stressed.

Hence, Lula plans to promote “the construction of an economic bloc, of an environment and the economy for that environment” that will allow the de-dollarization of South American economies, during the South American Summit.