Statement by President Lula at the 2nd Meeting “In Defense of Democracy: Fighting Against Extremism”

I have learned that the only way to speak for an allotted time is to do it in writing; otherwise, we end up talking too much. And we, the Latin Americans, have the defect of talking a bit too much. But I am not going to read my speech. I would like, Boric [Gabriel, President of Chile], to tell a short story; please, interrupt me when I reach the four minutes.

I would like to talk a bit about democracy, which is what is at stake for the future of humankind, because only democracy will be able to rebuild multilateralism, harmony among human beings, and civility in the relationships among the States. I am turning 80 on October 27. I have been in politics since I was 24 years old; however, I was not a politician when I started.

I was very proud to say that I did not like politics, that I did not like those who liked politics. I thought this was a great thing. I did not know it was pure ignorance on my part, because the disgrace of those who do not like politics is that they end up governed by those who do. And if those who do [like politics] have a different way of thinking than we do, we will never get the government we dream of.

I found out that going into politics was a necessity without ever reading a single word about Leninism, about Marxism, about Maoism. I do not come from a tradition or a culture of being a traditional left-wing militant. I was simply a metalworker who, at the age of 23, really liked soccer. I ended up joining a union by chance. I never thought I would join a union, and I never thought I would end up in politics. And, as chance would have it, I created a political party.

And why did I establish a political party? Because the Brazilian military government, in 1978, wanted to introduce a law that forbade certain categories of workers from going on strike. So I went to Brasília to rally against this law at the Chamber of Deputies. And that was where I made the greatest discovery of my life: I discovered that there were no workers at the National Congress.

I went back home thinking: “How can I —a mere metalworker— expect our representatives to vote for laws that benefit the working class when there are no workers in the National Congress?”. This was my life’s great discovery, and it drove me to establish a political party. And my political party, with barely eight years of existence, ran for the first presidential election. I thought it was humanly impossible for a worker to reach the Presidency of the Republic through an election.

In 1989, I found out that it was indeed possible, because I ran against all the big names of Brazilian politics, all big shots, and I — a mere metalworker — got to second place. And I went to the second round and obtained 47% of the votes. After that election, I organized a meeting called the São Paulo Forum.

I called left-wing representatives from Latin America to tell them that, through the organization of workers, it was indeed possible for us to reach the presidency. This is how we established the São Paulo Forum. For example, there were 15 left-wing organizations from the Dominican Republic alone. Argentina had 20 left-wing organizations that did not communicate with each other. Everyone was everyone’s enemy.

The only thing that united the Argentinians was Maradona [Diego Armando, the late soccer player]. Nobody else could unite them. So then we discussed the need for everyone to go back to being in politics. And what is my experience, Boric? My experience is that I was second place in 1989, I was second place in 1994, I was second place in 1998, I was first place in 2002, I was first place in 2006, we were first place in 2010, we were first place in 2014, we were first place in 2018, when I could not run as candidate, and we were first place when I came back in 2022.

What must we to do to ensure democracy? You, I, Yamandú [Orsi, President of Uruguay], Pedro Sánchez [President of the Government of Spain], and all of us must wake up every day and ask ourselves what we are going to do for democracy. When you go to bed at night, lie your head down on your pillow and ask yourself what you have done during the day to strengthen democracy.

How many people did you talk to about democracy? How many people did you talk to about the need to organize the people? How many people did you call to organize themselves? Because when my party was created, we had caucuses for different categories, we had caucuses for neighborhoods, we had caucuses for villages, we had caucuses for workplaces, for places of education.

It was civil society in their places of living, their places of work, who made it possible for democracy to win. So I ask: What have we done today? Let us analyze our consciences, all of us who are here: What did we do yesterday for democracy? How many people did we talk to about democracy? How many people did we talk to about grassroots organization? How many people did we talk to about organizing people by neighborhood, by place of living, by place of study, by place of work?

The truth is, we did not talk to anyone. And if we did not talk, we did not organize. And if we did not organize, democracy would lost. What bothers me today, my dear Boric, and I will end with this question. What matters to me today is that we ask ourselves: Where did the Democrats get it wrong? Where was it that the Left got it wrong?

Why is it that we have allowed the far-right to grow with the strength it has been growing? Is it because of their skill or does it stem from our shortcomings? Let us ask ourselves: What did we neglect to do to strengthen democracy? What did we do wrong? What did I do as President of the Republic to strengthen popular and social organization?

Because we often win elections with a left-wing discourse, and when we start governing, we tend to the interests of our enemies much more than to those of our friends. We often govern while answering to what the press publishes about us, to market expectations, to the need to respond to market forces. And often, our voters —who took to the streets, who got beaten up and humiliated— are seen by us as too sectarian and radical. We begin to ignore them and listen to those who praise us instead.

This is the failure of democracy. What did we neglect to do? And I believe we have neglected to do many things which, at another occasion, I plan to elaborate on. So I believe that, before we seek to identify the skills of the far-right, we must seek to understand where democracy has failed civil society.

How are we exercising democracy in our countries? If we find the answer to this question, we will once again beat the right-wing. If we cannot find this answer, we will continue to be suffocated by denialism, by extremism, and by the fascist discourse that we are currently witnessing.

This is what I wanted to say. Thank you.