Lula & Sanchez Agree On Strengthening Spain-Brazil Cooperation

On Friday, Brazil's former President Lula da Silva (2003-2011) met the Spanish government's President Pedro Sanchez in the Moncloa Palace in Madrid to discuss bilateral issues such as European and Latin American integration, climate change, and social policies to fight inequalities.

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Lula stressed the need to strengthen Spain-Brazil cultural and economic cooperation and share experiences in building strategies to counteract far-right policies.

"It is imperative to put in place quick and effective actions to address these challenges," Sanchez stressed, adding that the fight against climate change is another priority for his government. 

He expressed concern over the increase in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, in which over 13,235 square kilometers of forest were indiscriminately felled over the last year as a result of President Jair Bolsonaro's anti-environmental policies.

"Spain will support Brazil in the solution of the effects of climate change," Sanchez assured, stressing that he will also back the COVID-19 vaccination campaign development in this Latin American country.

In Madrid, Lula has also held meetings with Spanish union leaders and participated in a seminar on multilateral cooperation and post-coronavirus regional recovery organized by the House of America.

On Saturday, he will meet with Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra and United We Can (UP) leftist party’s founder Pablo Iglesias, with whom Lula will also coincide in a forum on popular alliances.