The continent is becoming more red as a result of Lula's victory in Brazil's presidential election. The European Union is in a rush to finalize the free trade agreement with Mercosur and is in desperate need of lithium from the area.
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| [Lula de Silva] |
With Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's win in the Brazilian elections, Latin America's move to the left has been completed. The region's five largest economies are now all governed by progressive leaders, which brings the total number of progressive heads of state in Latin America to five. This year, Chile selected Gabriel Boric, while Colombia selected Gustavo Petro, both of whom are considered to be on the left. First it was the turn of Mexico in 2018 with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and then it was the time of Argentina in 2019 with Alberto Fernández.
There is talk of a "pink tide" to emphasize that these governments are progressive but more moderate and distant from the "Bolivarian" socialism that characterized the other wave of the left in the continent, that of the 2000s. This other wave of the left in the continent was actually driven by the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who was a very close ally of Fidel Castro's Cuba, whom he considered his teacher. We can now overcome the isolation that had been created by Jair Bolsonaro, who had violated the national heritage of having an independent and pragmatic foreign policy. This is why the victory of Lula is wonderful news for Europe, and it has been embraced with joy. , but he chose instead to align himself with Donald Trump's White House, choosing instead to stay alone despite Joe Biden's election as vice president.
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, sent her congratulations to Lula and said that she was excited to work with him, particularly on the "pressing concerns" of addressing climate change and free trade. Even while the second argument is connected to the former in some manner, the former point is not nearly as vital to the EU as the later point is. The proposed free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur countries of South America (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) is at risk. The agreement was finalized in 2019, but it has not been ratified since then, primarily because of concerns regarding the environmental policy of Brazil, more specifically the excessive exploitation of the Amazon rainforest.
The Swedish Minister of Trade and Industry, Johan Forssell, said that the outcome of the elections in Brazil created "new possibilities" for achieving an agreement at this time. "I am more positive than previously on the potential of achieving a deal," the representative of the government that will hold the rotating presidency of the EU beginning in January of next year said. "I am more optimistic than before on the prospect of reaching an agreement."
After his victory, Lula exclaimed, "Brazil is back: it is too big to be relegated to this role of pariah in the world." However, Lula also criticized "the trade agreements that condemn our country to being an eternal exporter of goods and raw materials," which may have been a reference to the treaty between the EU and Mercosur. "Brazil is back: it is too big to be relegated to this role of pariah in the world," To summarize, in the event that diplomatic channels really reopen between Brasilia and Brussels, the shift to the left that has taken place in Brazil, together with that which has taken place in the other nations in the area, might constitute a problem for Europe from a commercial point of view.
And Lula's choices will not only be decisive for the country, but also for the blockade of the 'Big Five' of Latin America, of which the former trade unionist will be the de facto leader. This is due to the fact that he is at the helm of the most powerful economy and of a nation of continental dimensions, with more than 200 million inhabitants. Additionally, this is due to the fact that from a political point of view, it is the president with the most experience and charisma.
In addition to Mercosur, Brussels will have to negotiate with the "red" countries, or at the very least the "pink" countries, also for another issue that is putting pressure on the Union: the exploitation of raw materials, specifically lithium, which has been transformed into a true "white gold" due to the boom in the production of electric cars and the never-ending production of smartphones and computers, as lithium is required for the construction of batteries.
At the end of July, Chile and Argentina came to an agreement with Bolivia, which is headed by Luis "Lucho" Arce, another leader of the left and successor to the 'Bolivarian' Evo Morales, to jointly develop the lithium value chain. Bolivia is governed by Luis "Lucho" Arce. Because they control almost 65 percent of the world's reserves of the valuable mineral, the three countries constitute a global force when seen together from this vantage point. A global force that the EU will need to negotiate with in order to have any chance of securing the valuable resource.