Lula finds out that Latin America is not as he left it

Twenty years ago this week, having just been sworn in as Brazilian president for the first time, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave a famous speech at the third World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, in the South of Brazil.

Before an audience of activists and members of social movements, Lula laid out his case for South-South diplomacy. “For 500 years, our country has looked to Europe. It’s time to look to Africa and South America. It’s time to establish new partnerships, so that we can be more independent, strengthen Mercosur, and establish a political force for negotiation.”

Flash forward to 2023, and shortly after taking office as head of state for the third time, Lula attended the seventh Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Buenos Aires this week.

Lula’s visit to the CELAC summit marked Brazil’s return to the forum, after far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro acrimoniously withdrew the country from the organization in January 2020.

Less than 15 years old, CELAC has 33 members from across Latin America and the Caribbean, but crucially does not include the U.S. or Canada. As such, it seeks to provide a counterpoint to the Washington D.C.-based Organization of American States (OAS). And this week’s event was to be the launch of Lula’s leadership project for the region.

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that “no man steps in the...