‘We wish Lula a lot of success’: Borek, the new Chilean leader, announces his support for the ex-Brazilian president | World

Last Friday, Borek received the presidential sash at a ceremony in the coastal city of Valparaíso, but it ended just for the night in the capital, Santiago, with a crowd around the Palacio de la Moneda, the seat of the country’s executive branch.

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He was my guest at the inauguration, but decided not to attend due to diplomatic differences, so as not to cause a diplomatic accident. A position that works in your favour. I hope we can have a very good relationship from now on, but of course we will respect what the Brazilian people decide. “It’s clear where our heart is,” President Borek said of former President Lula’s absence from the inauguration to be his guest of honor.

Lola did not come, but sent Dilma Rousseff. The former president attended the opening in the main hall of Congress Chilealong with other Brazilian guests, including Juliano Medeiros, president of PSOL, and Aniel Franco, director of the Mariel Franco Institute.

“I spent a few minutes with Dilma and also with the head of PSOL. At another time, I also spoke with Celso Amorim and with social leaders from the MST movement. We also want to learn from the problems that PT faced at the time. We want to learn so that this does not happen to us And if that happens, we can confront it decisively. “Corruption cases, for example, that we know are serious, and when they happen, we have to have a very firm response, so that they don’t spread.”

The federal government sent Vice President Hamilton Murao who, when asked about President Jair Bolsonaro’s absence, said only: “He sent a representative!”. During the visit to ChileMorao met Borek last week.

It is clear to everyone that we are fundamentally different in terms of President Bolsonaro and his ideology. There is no point in hiding it, not even for diplomacy. This does not mean that we should cut ties with Brazil. This means that we have no similarities and that we have a completely different way of seeing the world and doing politics, in terms of respecting diversity, in terms of awareness of the climate crisis, in terms of respecting human rights, for example. But the Brazilian people elected him and we respect the Brazilian people.”

Although the main export destinations for Brazil are China, the United States, Argentina and the Netherlands, Chile It is the fifth country to receive the largest number of Brazilian products. In 2021, about 2.5% of Brazilian exports were directed to this country, equivalent to about 7 billion US dollars. According to data from the Undersecretary for Economic Relations Chilethe main Brazilian products arriving in the country are, in order, beans and soybeans, iron minerals and concentrates, and unrefined petroleum.

“Brazil is a giant and we are interested in establishing the best relationship with the Brazilian people and also contributing to the interest in all the wealth that Brazil has and that are part of the heritage of mankind, like the Amazon rainforest, respected, because it matters to everyone.”

In turn, Brazil is also an important and strategic market for Chile. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil concentrates most of the foreign investment for the country. Chile in the world, which together add up to about 35 billion USD. This represents about 12% of the country’s GDP. Chile. Brazil invests about $3.8 billion in Chile.

The two countries also concluded the Free Trade Agreement signed during the term of former President Michel Temer in 2018. The text covers topics such as investments, services, geographical indications, government procurement, sanitary and phytosanitary barriers, and customs simplification.