World

Lula berates the EU for making ‘threats’ in talks for Mercosur deal

Published

1 year ago

July 19, 2023

Lula berates the EU for making ‘threats’ in talks for Mercosur deal

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticised the European Union for making environmental demands during negotiations of a free trade deal.

A series of pre-ratification requirements to comply with the Paris Agreement, protect biodiversity and uphold labour standards were put forward in a letter that the European Commission sent earlier this year to the four countries that make up the Mercosur group: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The move from Brussels was meant to build upon the political momentum injected by Lula’s electoral victory and break the impasse of the long-stalled EU-Mercosur free trade deal. The mammoth agreement has been more than 20 years in the making and still faces resistance from some European governments, like France, Austria and Ireland, who have voiced concerns about the deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and the competition posed by low-cost agricultural products made in Latin America.

“Europe played an aggressive card. The letter that Europe wrote to Mercosur was a letter that threatened punishment if we didn’t meet certain environmental requirements,” Lula said on Wednesday morning, during a press conference.

“Two strategic partners do not discuss threats. We discuss proposals.”

The president insisted his country did not need to prove its green credentials to Brussels, as Brazil already obtains more than 80% of its electricity production from renewable sources, a rate that most European states still have a long way to go to attain.

“We do not accept the additional letter from the European Union. It is impossible to conceive among historical partners like us that someone would write such a threatening letter,” Lula told reporters.

“We don’t have a problem. We are preparing a reply and we think the European Union will calmly agree with our response. I think the additional European letter was possibly the work of someone who thought that by putting pressure on us, we would give in.”

Lula said the counterproposal drafted by his government would be sent to Brussels in “two or three weeks” once Mercosur approves the text.

“You take a country like France,” the president went on, expanding on his argument.

“France is very keen on protecting its agricultural products, its small and medium-sized farmlands, its poultry, its vegetables, its cheeses, its milk and its wines. Just as France has the sovereign right to defend its productive heritage tooth and nail, we must defend ours too. The richness of negotiation is that someone has to give in.”

The European Commission did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Its president, Ursula von der Leyen, has vowed to wrap up the agreement before the end of the year, a timeline that Lula also shares.

“I’m very optimistic,” the Brazilian leader said. “For the first time, I’m very optimistic that we’re going to conclude this deal this year.”

The aggressor and the aggressed

Lula’s comments follow a two-day summit in Brussels between the 27 members of the European Union and the 33 members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the first of its kind in eight years.

“Brazil is regaining the pleasure of doing international politics. Brazil is returning to its leading role,” Lula said, calling the meeting “really successful” and “extraordinary.”

The summit touched upon a wide array of topics, such as sustainable development, critical raw materials, the fight against climate change, regional security, labour rights and gender equality. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also made it into the discussions but rather than bringing the two sides closer together, the issue did nothing but expose the political divide between the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere.

In the days leading up to the summit, European diplomats pushed for a strong language of condemnation against the Kremlin’s war of aggression, something that certain Latin American countries viewed with scepticism owing to their trade ties with Russia and their determination to maintain an independent foreign policy.

After frantic hours of negotiations, the two sides settled on two paragraphs that express “deep concern on the ongoing war against Ukraine” and call for a “just and sustainable peace.”

Russia, the aggressor, is not mentioned by name at any point.

Despite the mildness of the language, Nicaragua, one of the few allies that Moscow has left on the global stage, refused to endorse the joint conclusions.

“We were discussing the vision of 60 countries. And, therefore, people need to understand that not everybody is going to agree with everybody, not everybody has the hurry, the same vision about things,” Lula said. “I think the Ukraine meeting was held at the right time. There was nothing we didn’t already know.”

Lula, whose explosive comments on the invasion had previously caused consternation among Western allies, said the international community needed to “convince Russia and Ukraine that peace is the best way forward,” a comment that appeared to put both warring parties on the same level.

“For now, neither (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy nor (Vladimir) Putin wants to talk about peace because each thinks he will win. But we see some fatigue: the world is getting tired of this war,” Lula said. “Then the time will come when there will be peace and there will have to be a group of countries able to talk to Russia and Ukraine.”

Asked about if the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory should be a precondition for peace talks, Lula gave yet another ambivalent answer.

“The withdrawal is part of the peace accord,” he said, without explicitly referring to the Russian army. “The condicio sine qua non to talk about peace is to stop the war. As long as people are firing shots, there will be no talks. And that’s what’s happening.”

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World

What to know about Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for Education secretary

Published

5 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

What to know about Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for Education secretary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Linda McMahon has been a constant presence in Donald Trump’s tumultuous orbit, serving in his first administration and supporting his presidential campaigns. Now he’s chosen her to serve as Education secretary.

Here’s a look at McMahon’s background, from business to politics.

McMahon went from wrestling to politics

McMahon is married to Vince McMahon, whose father was a prominent professional wrestling promoter. They followed him into the business, founding their own company that’s now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. It became a juggernaut in the industry and American culture.

When Trump was the star of the reality show “The Apprentice,” he made an appearance at Wrestlemania in 2007. The billionaire entertainment mogul participated in an elaborately scripted feud that ended with Trump shaving off Vince McMahon’s hair in the middle of the ring.

Linda McMahon stepped down from her position as WWE’s chief executive to enter politics. She ran twice for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut, but lost in 2010 to Richard Blumenthal and in 2012 to Chris Murphy.

Shifting gears, she focused on providing financial support to candidates. McMahon provided $6 million to help Trump’s candidacy after he secured the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

What to know about Trump’s second term:

Follow all of our coverage as Donald Trump assembles his second administration.

Teaching was an initial career goal

McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009. She told lawmakers at the time that she had a lifelong interest in education and once planned to become a teacher, a goal that fell aside after her marriage.

She also spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

McMahon is seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

McMahon was part of Trump’s first presidency

A month after defeating Hillary Clinton, Trump chose McMahon as leader of the Small Business Administration. The agency gives loans and disaster relief to companies and entrepreneurs, and it monitors government officials’ compliance with contract laws.
When McMahon was chosen, she was praised by Blumenthal and Murphy, the two Connecticut Democrats who defeated her in Senate campaigns. Blumenthal called her “a person of serious accomplishment and ability,” while Murphy said she was a “talented and experienced businessperson.”
Unlike other members of Trump’s first administration, McMahon was not shadowed by scandal or controversy. She frequently promoted his trade and tax policies.
“She has been a superstar,” Trump said when she left the administration in 2019. “The fact is, I’ve known her for a long time. I knew she was good, but I didn’t know she was that good.”
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She kept supporting Trump after leaving the administration

McMahon didn’t leave Trump’s orbit. She chaired America First Action, a super PAC that backed Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020. He lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and McMahon helped start the America First Policy Institute to continue advocating for Trump’s agenda and prepare for a potential return to the White House.

When Trump ran for president this year, McMahon was the co-chair of his transition team along with Howard Lutnick, the chief executive of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald. As part of that role, McMahon has been helping to plan Trump’s new administration.

Once he takes office, perhaps McMahon’s biggest task will be to eliminate the agency she was hired to oversee. Trump has promised to close the Education Department and return much of its powers to states. Trump has not explained how he would close the agency, which was created by Congress in 1979 and would likely require action from Congress to dismantle.

World

Brazil's first lady aims explicit joke at key target of husband's administration: 'F–k you, Elon Musk'

Published

6 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

Brazil's first lady aims explicit joke at key target of husband's administration: 'F–k you, Elon Musk'

The first lady of Brazil turned heads when she dropped an f-bomb directed at Tesla CEO Elon Musk during an official event over the weekend.

At the time, Brazil’s first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, was speaking about misinformation on social media during a pre-G20 social event on Saturday. The G20 summit began on Monday in Rio de Janeiro.

Lula, who is married to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, stopped mid-speech when she heard a ship’s horn blaring in the distance.

“I think it’s Elon Musk,” the first lady joked in Portuguese. “I’m not afraid of you, by the way.”

ELIZABETH WARREN GETS SARCASTIC AFTER TRUMP TAPS MUSK, RAMASWAMY FOR DOGE: ‘YEAH, THIS SEEMS REALLY EFFICIENT’

Janja Lula da Silva told an explicit joke about Elon Musk over the weekend ahead of the G20 summit. (Getty Images)

“F–k you, Elon Musk,” Lula added in English, prompting cheers from the audience.

The clip, which was posted on X, drew the attention of Musk, who responded with laughing emojis.

“They will lose the next election,” the entrepreneur wrote.

‘FIRST BUDDY’: ELON EARNS FAMILY STATUS IN TRUMP WORLD AS MUSK EXPANDS POLITICAL FOOTPRINT

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife, Emine Erdoğan, are welcomed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his wife, Janja Lulu da Silva, as they pose for a photo during the G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 17, 2024. (Turkish Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Brazil banned X in September, prompting outrage across the world. Brazilian Supreme Court’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes imposed the ban, citing misinformation on X, which the judge felt was not adequately moderated on the platform.

The country lifted the ban a month later, and de Moraes wrote that the decision “was conditioned, solely, on [X’s] full compliance with Brazilian laws and absolute observance of the Judiciary’s decisions, out of respect for national sovereignty.”

“X is proud to return to Brazil,” X said in a statement at the time. “Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.”

Janja Lula da Silva speaks to supporters during a gathering with artists, politicians and other personalities one week before the presidential elections at Auditório Celso Furtado on Sept. 26, 2022, in São Paulo, Brazil. (Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

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The Brazilian first lady’s joke took place two days before the G20 summit officially began. President Biden was present at the summit, though he did not appear during the annual family photo with fellow world leaders and missed the photo-op “for logistical reasons,” the White House said.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can send story tips to andrea.margolis@fox.com.

World

G20 Summit: Brazil's president calls for more action on climate change

Published

6 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

G20 Summit: Brazil's president calls for more action on climate change

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s comments came the day after representatives of the G20 nations endorsed a joint statement that called for a pact to combat hunger, more aid for Gaza, an end to the war in Ukraine and other goals.

Brazil’s president opened the second day of the G20 Summit by calling for more action to slow global warming, saying developed nations must speed up their initiatives to reduce harmful emissions.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva focused Tuesday’s session on environmental challenges, saying developed nations should consider moving their 2050 emission goals forward to 2040 or 2045.

“The G20 is responsible for 80% of greenhouse effect emissions,” Lula said. “Even if we are not walking the same speed, we can all take one more step.”

During the summit, which was held at Rio de Janeiro’s Modern Art Museum, G20 leaders gathered to discuss changes in the world order from heightened global tensions to changes on the international political stage.

The agenda focused on working to reinforce multilateral cooperation before US President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January.

EU leaders also took the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.

In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to strengthening relations with China and insisted that the two countries shared the same views on promoting peace in Ukraine.

“The world in which we live, as you just reminded us, is made up of instabilities, tensions and growing wars. And I believe that we truly share a common vision in upholding the United Nations Charter and promoting a peace agenda,” Macron told Jinping.

“We meet again on the 1000 day of the War of Aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine, and I know that you share, as we do, the desire for a lasting peace, respectful of the United Nations Charter, and that you share, as we do, the same concern after Russia’s bellicose and escalating declarations of nuclear doctrine,” he added.

A joint statement signed by representatives of the G20 nations on Monday night called for urgent humanitarian assistance and better protection of civilians caught up in conflicts in the Middle East, plus affirmed the Palestinian right to self-determination.

It also included Brazil’s proposal to tax billionaires’ income by 2%, focused on ways to eradicate world hunger and pledged to work for ‘transformative reform’ of the UN Security Council.