London, July 14, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Yesterday (13), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized President George Bush's absence from the Progressive Governance Conference in London. "I think we have to get ourselves used to involving the United States in the debates. It is true that they are tough negotiators, but we should also be so. They think first, second, and third of themselves," he affirmed. Lula cited the lack of trust and collaboration among the world's nations as a factor that creates possibilities for terrorist actions and wars. "The world would be much easier, if many politicians did not think only about their own countries, getting elected, and their parties' political problems. I want to contribute to a new political pattern, based on relations of trust. When this happens, we shall no longer need to have wars, trafficking, and terrorism," the Brazilian president said.
The President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasnunwski, was offended by Lula's declarations and affirmed that, just as Brazil defends its own interests, he defends Poland's interests, and the United States defends its own ones.
"It is not true that the United States doesn't think about other countries; we know that the path towards freedom, democracy, and social society only came about because the United States worked with our democratic forces to oppose Communism. They helped us a lot more than other countries I prefer not to mention. Our role is to work together and maintain the dialogue, but respecting the United States. We are not egotistical; we are intelligent enough to understand our role in order to work together," Kwasnunwski stated.
In reply, Lula said that he respects the United States. "I consider it a State that thinks strategically as a nation defending its interests, when it helped overthrow Communism and when it goes to war against Iraq," he argued. For Lula, what concerns him is to get the developed countries to pay attention to the poorer nations. "The United States must enter the global debate, and the poor nations need to stop being subservient, where the United States is involved. I call on the Americans to take seats at the table to join the debate. If they had participated in a global debate, the war in Iraq would not have happened," President Lula explained.
The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, agreed that the developing countries are too small to act alone on the contemporary economic stage. "It is important for the United States to cooperate with the world's development. The challenge is to find a response to the question of how to go about this," Mbeki declared.
BLAIR'S DEFENSE
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, introduced a lighter note in the conversation, when he affirmed that one of the characteristics of members of the Progressive Alliance is to be attacked from both left and right. "You, sir, are a born member," he said, referring to President Lula. Next, he tried to explain the attack on Iraq. "Nobody had the slightest doubt about the menance that Saddam Hussein represented. But, when we see the Iraqis taking the first steps towards putting together a government, we can be certain of one thing: Iraq will be a better place to live with Saddam out of power," Blair declared.
Blair underlined that the Alliance should not adopt anti-Americanism; what it desires is a genuine partnership with the United States. "A progressive agenda is much better than the individualism of the United States to avoid the formation of a counter-bloc. Let us work together to resolve the questions of terrorist threats, the environment, and peace for the State of Israel and the Palestine region," Blair urged.
AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA
During the Progressive Governance Conference, President Lula affirmed that the challenge his government faces is to rebuild unity among the countries of South America and attempt to construct a relationship with Africa. In Lula's view, this is the century in which the large nations should turn towards the developing countries. "There are 42 million people who suffer from hunger in Brazil; we have to provide young people with the right to dream again and have a perspective for the future. The ones that can help are the developing countries," Lula declared.
He said that politics can contribute to bringing the Presidents of South America closer together. "I learned from my labor union experiences that, if workers do not organize, they don't win their battles against the owners. Currently, talk of integration is mere words. Brazil has frontiers with nine South American countries, but bridges, roads, and railways do not exist between many of these countries," the Brazilian President emphasized.
Lula criticized the fact that Brazil and other developing countries have concentrated on negotiations with Europe and the United States, due to the political subordination of multinational companies. "Brazil has ethical and moral commitments to Africa; nevertheless, interests are always directed at Europe. That is what we were taught over the years. One example: Brazil has no direct flights to South Africa. When someone from Angola has to go to Brazil on business, he first has to travel by way of Paris; but, if you're going to Paris, you don't come to Brazil," Lula remarked ironically.
The Progressive Governance Conference was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasnunwski; the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki; the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark; the Prime Minister of Sweden, Goran Person; the President of the Czech Republic, Vladimir Spidla; the President of Hungary, Peter Medgyessy; the Prime Minister of Romania, Adrian Nastase; and Peter Mandelson, executive director of the Policy Network, the institution responsible for organizing the event. (DAS)
