U.S. and Brazil deliberate on possible meeting between Biden and Lula amid diplomatic strains

Amidst diplomatic tensions, the U.S. and Brazil are contemplating a prospective meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York, as reported by three anonymous Brazilian officials.

Recently, Biden and Lula had a telephone discussion about mutual environmental objectives and other matters.

This comes despite notable differences between the two nations, such as the Ukraine conflict and relations with China.

While the specifics of the potential meeting haven’t been publicly confirmed, there was no immediate comment from the White House on this matter.

Following their discussion, Biden is believed to have expressed his intention to request Congress for a US$500 million commitment over five years for an Amazon reforestation initiative.

This fund will mobilize up to US$1 billion to support land restoration efforts in Brazil, particularly the Amazon region, via the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

The Biden-Lula conversation transpired shortly after Javier Milei’s surprising primary victory in Argentina’s presidential elections.

Milei, an outspoken libertarian, has voiced his admiration for Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, and has shown disdain for Lula and other Latin American left-leaning leaders.

He has even stated that if elected, Argentina would exit the Mercosur trade bloc with Brazil.

While Biden had celebrated Lula’s win over Bolsonaro last fall and welcomed him to the White House earlier this year, Lula has shown reservations about Biden’s global efforts concerning Ukraine, once commenting that “the world is starting to get tired”.

Lula also refrained from condemning Moscow’s actions in the Ukraine conflict, suggesting that the U.S. and Ukraine could have been more proactive in dialogues with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lula’s recent high-profile visit to Beijing also underscores his interest in fostering closer Brazil-China ties.