PARIS (Reuters) – President Emmanuel Macron hosted former Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a gathering on the Elysee palace on Wednesday, a uncommon honour signalling assist for a rival of Brazil’s far-right incumbent with whom the French chief has traded barbs.
Lula, a former union chief who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, is predicted to problem far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, although neither has formally declared their candidacy.
In an official assertion after the assembly on the French presidential palace, Macron’s workplace stated Lula had “shared his imaginative and prescient of Brazil’s position on the planet, noting how, over the previous three years, Brazil has set itself apart of the multilateral system and main worldwide agreements.”
The assertion appeared as a thinly-veiled dig at Bolsonaro, with whom Macron has been on the alternative aspect of many arguments, together with enforcement of the Paris local weather accord and the EU-Mercosur commerce negotiations.
In Rome final month, movies from G20 occasions confirmed Bolsonaro as an remoted determine, who was not a part of the photograph taken on the Trevi fountain with different world leaders.
Since taking workplace, Bolsonaro has railed in opposition to the enforcement of environmental laws in Brazil, introduced intentions to develop the Amazon area, questioned the severity of the coronavirus, shunned lockdowns, sowed vaccine doubts and pushed unproven cures.
In 2019, Bolsonaro mocked Macron’s spouse and accused him of disrespecting Brazil’s sovereignty due to the French chief’s criticism of deforestation. Macron referred to as Bolsonaro a liar, including Brazilian ladies had been “in all probability ashamed” of him.
Lula holds a commanding double-digit lead in opinion polls over Bolsonaro, whose reputation has plummeted over his dealing with of the world’s second-deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, excessive unemployment and rising inflation.
(Reporting by Michel Rose; Modifying by Alistair Bell)
