By Dr. Kivumbi Earnest Benjamin, L H. D, (Hon.)

NEW YORK- Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, President of Brazil, during the on going United Nations General Assembly highlighted the link between the “multilateralism crisis and the weakening of democracy,” observing that “throughout the world, anti-democratic forces are trying to subjugate institutions and stifle freedoms”.  

They worship violence, praise ignorance, act as physical and digital militias, and restrict the press”.  Brazil has and will continue to defend its hard-won democracy from unilateral measures targeting its judiciary and economy, he stressed.  A former Head of State was convicted of attacking democracy the first time in 525 years of Brazilian history.  The right to defend himself in court was upheld — something that would be denied under a dictatorship.  In doing so, Brazil sent a message to “aspiring autocrats” and their supporters:  “Our democracy and sovereignty are non-negotiable.”  Further, sound democracies reduce inequality and guarantee the most basic rights of food, safety, housing, education and health.

“Poverty is as much an enemy of democracy as extremism,” he continued, highlighting that Brazil has been taken off the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Hunger Map in 2025 — though, globally, 2.3 billion people face food insecurity.  “The only war of which everyone can emerge victorious is the one we wage against hunger and poverty,” he said, calling for a change in the international community’s priorities to focus on reducing arms spending, increasing development aid, providing debt relief for the poorest nations and setting a minimum global tax — “so that the super-rich pay more taxes than workers”. Democracy also protects family and childhood.  In that vein, he voiced concern that digital platforms have been used to sow intolerance, misogyny, xenophobia and misinformation.

 Regulating the internet does not mean restricting the freedom of expression — it ensures that what is “illegal in the real world is treated that way in the virtual environment”.  Objections to regulation cover up crimes such as human trafficking and paedophilia, he said, recalling that “the Brazilian Parliament was right to rush to address this issue” in recent legislation.

Turning to Latin America and the Caribbean, he voiced concern over growing polarization and instability in the region.  Comparing crime to terrorism is “worrying”, he added, condemning the use of lethal force in situations that are not armed conflict as “executing people without trial”.  Such interventions cause more damage than intended.  “The path to dialogue must not be closed in Venezuela. Haiti has the right to a violence-free future.  And it is unacceptable that Cuba is listed as a country that sponsors terrorism,” he underlined.  However, “no situation is more emblematic of the disproportionate and illegal use of force than the one occurring in Palestine”.  Condemning the Hamas terror attacks, he said “nothing justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza”.  International humanitarian law and the myth of Western exceptionalism are buried under the rubble there.  The survival of the Palestinian people requires an independent State.

“Bombs and nuclear weapons will not protect us from of the climate crisis,” he said.  2024 was the hottest year on record, he continued, noting that the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belem will be a moment “for world leaders to prove the seriousness of their commitment to the planet”.  For its part, Brazil has committed to reduce its emissions by between 59 and 67 per cent in all economic sectors.  His country has also reduced deforestation by half in the Amazon in the past two years.  He stressed that confrontation is not inevitable, calling for “leaders […] who understand that the international order is not a ‘zero-sum game’”.  In an increasingly multipolar world, peace requires multilateralism, he concluded.