| Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (front) speaks during a ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Lucio Tavora) |
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, assured this Sunday, in the American newspaper The New York Times, that he will not be a “servant” in the face of hegemonic projects and criticized the “neocolonialism” intentions of the United States with the bombing against Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
In an opinion article in the American newspaper, the Brazilian president repudiated, without naming it, the so-called Donroe Doctrine, a reissue by Donald Trump’s Government of the Monroe Doctrine that since 1823 attempted to establish United States hegemony over Latin America.
In the text, titled “This Hemisphere belongs to us all,” Lula Da Silva condemned the unilateral actions of Washington, whose Government he called to respect multilateral institutions to preserve peace and security.
“History has shown that the use of force will never bring us closer to these objectives. The division of the world into zones of influence and neocolonial incursions in search of strategic resources are obsolete and harmful practices,” he said.
“We will not be subservient to hegemonic projects. Building a prosperous, peaceful and plural region is the only doctrine that serves us,” he added.
The Brazilian leader made reference to a publication from the State Department, in which the right to intervene in American countries was attributed, after the armed invasion of Venezuela on January 3.
For Lula da Silva, the United States bombings in Venezuelan territory and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, on January 3, “are the most regrettable chapter in the continuous erosion of international law and the multilateral order established after the Second World War.”
He indicated that “when the use of force to resolve disputes stops being the exception and becomes the rule, global peace, security and stability are at risk.”
In specific reference to Venezuela, Lula Silva said that although rulers must be accountable to their countries, “it is not legitimate for another State to assume the right to do justice.”
“Unilateral actions threaten global stability, disrupt trade and investment, increase refugee flows and further weaken the ability of States to confront organized crime and other transnational challenges,” he added.
The president said that it is “worrying” that the United States brings instability to Latin America and the Caribbean, “a region of the world that seeks peace through sovereign equality among nations, the rejection of the use of force and the defense of the self-determination of peoples.”
“In more than 200 years of independent history, this is the first time that South America suffers a direct military attack from the United States, although US forces have previously intervened in the region,” he stressed.
After recalling that Latin America and the Caribbean are home to more than 660 million people, the president of the largest economy in the region assured that each nation has its own interests and dreams to defend.
Lula da Silva called for establishing a positive agenda and asked that the leaders “of the great powers understand that a world of permanent hostility is not viable. No matter how strong they are, these powers cannot rely only on fear and coercion.”
“The future of Venezuela, like that of any other country, must remain in the hands of its people. Only an inclusive political process, led by Venezuelans themselves, will lead to a democratic and sustainable future,” he added.
(Web editor: Zhou Yu, Zhao Jian)
