Speech by President Lula during tribute at the French Academy

It was with great satisfaction that I accepted the invitation to address this Academy — which has, for almost four centuries, kept the French language alive with zeal and rigor.

I have the honor of being the second Brazilian ruler to occupy this tribune.

The presence of Dom Pedro II in this house 153 years ago testifies to the long-standing mutual interest between our countries.

The Brazil that is back here today is both republican and democratic, more diverse and plural.

Over this period, the consolidation of the Brazilian Republic drew from the French Enlightenment.

From the separation of powers to civil and administrative law, through the motto inscribed on our flag — "Order and Progress" — France's legacy was felt in the organization of the Brazilian State.

The ideals of the French Revolution continue to echo across Brazilian political life and in other parts of the world.

From the nineteenth century on, French travelers’ gaze on Brazil has led my country to see itself.

An example of this was the French artistic mission of 1816, which played a fundamental role in our cultural formation.

In the opposite direction, Brazilian cultural production has been welcomed with interest and enthusiasm by the French public — in a process of cross-fertilization that enriches both countries.

The work of Brazilian artists, musicians, architects, and filmmakers has been acclaimed in Parisian galleries and buildings; they have left their mark on the streets and buildings of the City of Light; and have been awarded in Cannes.

The foundation of the Brazilian Academy of Letters [Academia Brasileira de Letras/ABL] in 1897 was also an expression of these affinities.

ABL was born from a dream: Brazilian intellectuals dreamed of creating a space for reflection and creation similar to that of the French Academy, but in the tropics.

At the head of this project was an extraordinary man: Machado de Assis.

Grandson of enslaved people — and self-taught — he was one of the modern world’s greatest literary intelligences.

Machado founded the ABL, presided over it for more than ten years, and was celebrated by his peers and admired by French critics.

The connection between the ABL and the French Academy is testimony to the communion of minds of two countries that understand that — to remain complete and alive — words need institutions that cultivate, promote and defend them. 

The Portuguese language, like French, was born from Latin — this mother tongue that shaped our way of expressing the world.  

The Brazilian variety of Portuguese is the result of a linguistic process that has been deeply marked by history.

The Tupi-Guarani linguistic family spoken by the indigenous peoples who first inhabited our land was added to European Portuguese.

African languages such as Yoruba and Kimbundu were also mixed in, brought over in the bowels of slavery.

Our language, like every living language, has continued to reinvent itself over the centuries, welcoming the languages of millions of immigrants from all over the world: Italian, German, Arab, Japanese, Spanish and French people.

Each of these groups has bequeathed its cadence, its words, and its soul to Brazil.

This confluence of voices and experiences — often erased, but never silenced — has shaped a plural, miscegenated language which carries in its sonority the memory and struggles of an entire country.

Therefore, to talk about the Portuguese language in Brazil is to talk about resistance, reinvention and the art of overcoming hardship.

We experience every day the challenges of making culture a state — and not just a government — policy.

Access to books, music, cinema, and art in their multiple forms should be everyone's right, and not the privilege of a few.

France is an example for those who defend cultural diversity through democratic and robust regulation.

Culture is never — and should never be — static. It reveals, questions and transforms.

In times of extremism, intolerance, violent simplifications and hate speech, culture — with its complexity and beauty — teaches us to listen and live with each other.

It is culture that invites us to inhabit possible futures, to collectively build what before we only dared imagine.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that culture is always one of the first victims of authoritarian projects.

Cultural wars fought against artistic and university institutions are attempts to stifle critical thinking, and impose narrow and limiting worldviews.

They take advantage of the business model of virtual platforms — which monetize lies and ignorance and give more value to "likes" than to human dignity.