Speech by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, delivered by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira at the 10th CELAC Summit

This tenth CELAC Summit takes place at a time of profound unrest in both our region and the wider world.

The two centuries of independent history in Latin America and the Caribbean have been marked by long periods of indifference among our nations, interspersed with brief moments of rapprochement.

These short-lived periods of unity have, in most cases, arisen in response to external circumstances.

We have often reacted to what came from outside, rather than turning our attention inward.

The very origins of CELAC illustrate this dynamic.

The invasion of Grenada in the early 1980s helped spur the creation of the Contadora Group and the Contadora Support Group.

Both initiatives eventually converged in the Rio Group, which later paved the way for the establishment of CELAC.

But CELAC evolved to become something different from previous experiences.

We had the honor of hosting, in Salvador, the first meeting of Latin American and Caribbean countries without external oversight.

For the first time, we were able to define our own agenda, guided by our needs and interests.

We began to outline a form of integration that was active rather than reactive.

We committed ourselves to shared values such as peace, respect for international law, and non-interference.

We implemented concrete cooperation measures in areas such as food security, health, and disaster response.

Today, however, the region finds itself constrained and divided.

We are not even able to unite in condemning attacks against the sovereignty of our own members.

We have passively watched the crisis in Haiti and the threats directed at Cuba.

Tensions between neighboring countries are once again raising the risk of the use of force on a continent that has remained free of war for more than thirty years.

Despite the best efforts of recent presidencies, CELAC Summits are becoming increasingly devoid of substance.

This is no coincidence.

Weakening CELAC removes the main obstacle to attempts to turn our region into a sphere of influence.

But Latin America and the Caribbean are not anyone’s backyard.

A fragmented region only strengthens organized crime.

Cooperation among our countries, without relinquishing sovereignty, is our strongest shield.

To dismantle these organizations, it is not enough to confront the cartels’ foot soldiers alone.

We must target the entire chain of command, especially those at the highest levels, who live in luxury apartments and offices.

This problem is not only Latin American; it is global in scope.

It is essential to curb financial fraud, halt the flow of weapons from wealthy countries, combat money laundering in tax havens, and regulate the use of cryptocurrencies.

Isolated measures produce only temporary results.

Only by strengthening our institutions will we be able to secure lasting solutions.

In Brazil, we are working to establish a Unified Public Security System, and we have enacted a law to combat criminal factions.

Our objective is to improve coordination among police forces and reinforce the role of the Federal Police in combating criminal organizations and private militias operating across state borders and internationally.

This week, we launched Operation Integrated Force.

Simultaneous actions in 15 states resulted in 116 arrests, the seizure of more than 700 kilograms of drugs, and the freezing of nearly USD 20 million in illicit assets.

This kind of coordination must extend across the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The International Police Cooperation Center in Manaus, which brings together representatives from all Amazonian countries, is a strong example.

Another successful initiative is the Tripartite Command in the Triple Frontier between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, which we renewed last year.

My friends,

Historically, foreign interference led to the establishment of authoritarian regimes in our region.

Today, threats no longer come only from tanks and soldiers, but also from computers and mobile phones.

Disinformation campaigns, orchestrated within and beyond national borders, undermine the credibility of electoral systems.

The manipulation of algorithms and the production of false content through artificial intelligence distort reality and destabilize the political arena.

They also put the most vulnerable at risk.

The lack of regulation exposes children and adolescents to dangers and abuse on the internet.

To protect them, we have adopted, in Brazil, the Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, denialism amplified through social media cost thousands of lives.

Lies generate profits for digital platforms and votes for extremist politicians.

Defending democracy is a responsibility shared by all.

Regional integration, likewise, has no political affiliation.

Replacing plural forums with groups based on ideological affinity is a mistake.

Governments come and go, but history and geography endure.

Over the past year, the presidency of Colombia, which we congratulate, has worked to strengthen CELAC’s relations with external partners.

We maintained dialogue with China, the European Union, and Africa.

These countries and blocs see in Latin America and the Caribbean a potential that we ourselves do not always fully recognize or harness.

It is a paradox that a region so rich in resources continues to struggle with so many challenges.

We are global powerhouses in energy, biodiversity, and agriculture.

Yet what prevails in this part of the world are deeply unequal societies that remain technologically dependent.

What we lack to break this cycle of underdevelopment is political leadership.

Latin America holds the world’s second-largest reserves of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

From these minerals come the chips, batteries, and solar panels that drive the digital revolution and the energy transition.

It is only fair that we participate in every stage of these value chains, from extraction to the final product, from processing to recycling.

We now have the opportunity to rewrite the region’s history without repeating the mistake of allowing other parts of the world to prosper at our expense.

Adopting a regional framework with minimum common standards would increase our bargaining power with investors.

The mistakes of neoliberalism have had a profoundly negative impact on our region.

Discredited in Europe and the United States, even among sectors of the right, the notion of a minimal state still has many followers among us.

Our people long for effective public policies.

Today, nearly a third of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean works independently.

They are entrepreneurial women and men who do not rely on state assistance, but who expect quality public services.

They want schools with good teachers, hospitals without long waiting lines, affordable transportation, and access to home ownership financed at low interest rates.

More than 36 percent of Latin American and Caribbean citizens over the age of sixty remain active in the workforce.

Our societies are aging, and our citizens have the right to a dignified retirement.

The responsibility of governments is to work for the well-being of families.

Without decisive state action, we will also be unable to integrate the region’s infrastructure.

We need land, water, and air routes connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, allowing goods to circulate and citizens to travel.

We also need an interconnected electricity grid to ensure supply and lower the cost of energy.

In a world marked by maritime blockades and disruptions in the supply of essential inputs, this integration is more important than ever.

In South America, we are establishing an Infrastructure Observatory to identify gaps, monitor progress, and promote investment.

Multilateral development banks such as the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, Fonplata, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, and the New Development Bank are valuable partners in turning projects into reality.

Through this interconnection, we will increasingly be able to obtain within the region the goods and services we currently rely on external suppliers to provide.

Intra-regional exports in Latin America and the Caribbean represent only 14 percent of our total trade.

To reverse this situation, we must encourage the internationalization of our companies.

In Brazil, we have just approved legislation providing greater legal certainty for financing exports of goods and services through the Brazilian Development Bank.

Innovative digital payment systems such as PIX can also help boost regional trade.

We will be better protected from external shocks if we invest in integrating our production chains.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When we walk together, we are better able to withstand the turbulence of the global economy and geopolitics.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States represents the most ambitious effort ever undertaken to affirm the unique identity of Latin America and the Caribbean on the international stage.

In South America, the institutional strength of MERCOSUR provides a solid platform for expanding our integration.

We welcome the accession of Bolivia as a full member and the interest of other countries in joining our bloc.

Let this be our commitment: to transform diversity into strength, unity into sovereignty, and hope into the future.

As Pablo Milanés sings in the song Canción por la Unidad Latinoamericana:

“What shines with its own light cannot be extinguished; its brightness can reach the darkness of other shores.”

Thank you very much.