Joe Biden and Lula Meet for the First Time as Presidents, Swap Insurrection Stories

U.S. President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Lula met for the first time as the leaders of their respective countries. They talked about various agendas, from the environment to trade and national security. However, they also faced insurrections from their predecessors, and they swapped insurrection stories.

While Joe Biden faced an insurrection from Donald Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, Lula, on the other hand, faced the recent January 8 riot led by supporters of the former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 elections while Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 Brazilian elections. Both their opponents were the sitting presidents and were ousted by the popular vote but both claimed that the elections were stolen and therefore illegitimate. Both former presidents have also not presented any sufficient evidence to bolster their claims of election fraud.

The meeting came barely a month since the January 8 riot in Brazil, with the event still fresh on Lula's mind as he met his American counterpart. They exchanged their stories and vowed to guard democracy, according to the New York Times.

"Both our nations, strong democracies, have been tested of late, very much tested, and our institutions were put in jeopardy," said Biden as he sat with Lula in the White House. "But both the United States and Brazil, democracy prevailed."

Biden added that the U.S. and Brazil are standing together and rejecting political violence.

Biden also affirmed that the United States will be giving Brazil its unwavering support in its fight for democracy, while Lula hit at the rise of right-wing populism around the world, including in the United States and Brazil.

Joe Biden and Lula Also Talk About the Environment

While Biden and Lula seem to be swapping horror stories about the insurrections they faced, they also tackled a key issue, and that is the environment, which was at the top of their agenda during the meeting. Brazil is home to the Amazon Rainforest, which suffered during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro thanks to farmers and loggers encroaching on the area with impunity.

While Bolsonaro sped up the Amazon's deforestation, Lula vowed to protect it, as well as reduce Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions. The topic of the environment was what the two leaders talked about in their two previous phone calls, according to CNN.

They also talked about the economy, as well as Brazil's upcoming chairmanship of the G-20, as the South American country is set to become the G20 president in 2024.

Lula and Joe Biden Disagreed on Ukraine

While both agreed on a wide range of topics, from politics to the environment, the two leaders do not seem to agree on the topic of Ukraine.

While Joe Biden remains a vocal critic of the Russian invasion, Lula previously said that it was Ukraine's fault they got invaded, though clarified it was also wrong of Russia to invade. Brazil has also declined to provide munitions to Ukraine, though he did propose to Biden the creation of a group of nations to negotiate peace.

However, according to the Associated Press, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated that it is still up to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to determine "if and when negotiations are appropriate, and certainly under what circumstances."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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