A year ago, on January 1, 2023, Lula returned to power in Brazil. The former union leader, already in power from 2003 to 2011, promised a break with the Jair Bolsonaro era, the outgoing far-right president. Among its challenges: stopping deforestation in the Amazon, or putting Brazil back on the world diplomatic stage. First assessment.
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Barely re-elected in October 2022, Lula rushes to COP 27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh. He is not yet officially inaugurated president, but the message is clear: after four years of diplomatic absence under Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil is back on the international scene.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva quickly takes on the role of savior of the Amazon. With success: last November, deforestation fell to its lowest level since records began in 2015. Environment still, last week the Brazilian president vetoed key points of a controversial law which relaxes the rules on pesticides in the country. Brazil, a major producer of transgenic soya, is an agricultural giant and the world’s leading consumer of agrotoxic phytosanitary products. Agro-trading, one of the main drivers of the Brazilian economy, follows a productivist model, a pillar of which is the intensive use of pesticides, recalls Agence France Presse. The country consumed 719,507 tonnes in 2021, or 20% of the total marketed worldwide, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Read alsoBrazil: deforestation in the Amazon in sharp decline since Lula’s return to power
Lula also works in favor of the ratification of thefree trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union – but fails to overcome the differences that are blocking the final negotiations. Relations with Europe are also strained around the war in Ukraine. kyiv’s allies judge the position of the Brazilian president too favorable to Russia. Lula dreams of himself as a mediator in this conflict, but must quickly recognize the limits of his influence.
With the former trade unionist, who has become the spokesperson for emerging countries, Brazil is reconnecting with an independent diplomacy which wishes to reform international organizations such as the UN and the World Bank. To defend this ambitious agenda, Lula has, since taking office a year ago, spent a total of two months abroad.
A good economic record
On the economic level, despite the fears weighing on inflation, the left-wing president is closing a very successful year, estimates Cristina Pinto de Mello, economist and professor at the Catholic University of São Paulo, at the microphone of Justine Fontaine from the RFI Economy editorial team. “ Lula surprised everyone. The forecasts from the financial sector were not so good for Brazil, but ultimately the results [de cette année] are better than expected.
Growth is quite high, inflation has fallen. We also have the best employment rate since 2015. And we end the year with a positive trade balance. In short, the country’s economic results are very good, this is good news.And then Brazil put an end this year to the permanent conflict which took place between the States inside the country, which each sought to attract industries by lowering local taxes. From now on, there is a single tax in this area for all of Brazil. This is a discussion that has been going on for thirty years! It is truly a great victory that this tax reform was
Read alsoadopted. »Brazil: the lifting of the public spending ceiling, a success for Lula
What do Brazilians say about it?
One year after Lula’s inauguration, is Brazilian society on the path to reconciliation? After tense elections and a result contested by the ousted former president, Jair Bolsonaro, the January 8 coup attempt was the high point of divisions between Brazilians. What are their expectations for 2024? Our correspondent in Rio de Janeiro, Sarah Cozzolino handed them his microphone.
A slow reconciliation is what Leonardo hopes for 2024. And this Lula voter feels that things are on the right track. “ I feel like people are talking to each other again. I think tensions have eased. And you can see it in the street, where you could see that people were really on edge. » Even if Daniel recognizes that relationships have become peaceful, some friendships will remain broken forever. “ I distanced myself from a lot of people who didn’t think like me, mainly the hard-line Bolsonaristas, the extremists who spread false information. »
But much remains to be done, according to Taís. “ The cost of living has increased… Here in Rio, we always see more people on the streets, people in need… violence is increasing… And we expected everything to improve a little. »
Read alsoA year after Lula’s return to power, Brazilians expect more changes
Victor recalls that the president must deal with a Congress with a majority on the right. “ Bolsonarism has weakened, but the right, those who share the same ideas as Bolsonaro, remain strong. It’s just less visible. »
Whether you are right or left in Brazil, the tradition is to spend the New Year in white clothes. A symbol of peace.