French President Emmanuel Macron spent much of the week touring the Amazon rainforest with Brazil’s radical leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Photos of the two enjoying each other’s company spread jokes about their “bromance” and spawned mocking memes.
Macron arrived in Brazil on Tuesday as part of a three-day official tour. visit To a country in South America. The French leader previously took part in events held in the cities of Belem, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. arrival In the capital Brasilia on Thursday, he signed There are 21 contracts with Lula.
On Tuesday, Lula posted a message on social media saying he was on his way to Kombu Island, off the coast of Belem in the Brazilian Amazon. The message also included a photo of Mr Lula and Mr Macron, wearing white shirts, holding hands as they boarded a boat bound for a Brazilian island.
A caminho da Ilha do Combu, no Pará, com @EmmanuelMacron. Brazilian President Francis starts the activity and provides a great deal of funding. 🇷🇷
📸 @ricardostuckert pic.twitter.com/irPstXjOrk
— Lula (@LulaOficial) March 26, 2024
other picture The photo, taken during an official visit to Combu Island, shows Mr Lula and Mr Macron holding hands, smiling and waving. The photos prompted social media users to joke that the two presidents “look like they just got married and are on a whirlwind honeymoon.”
Macron and Lula just got married and appear to be on a whirlwind honeymoon. pic.twitter.com/urcx8UCpen
— Sir Humphrey🇺 (@bdquinn) March 27, 2024
Macron and Lula appear to be taking engagement photos pic.twitter.com/iGaS1RTb6E
— Andy Kaczynski (@KFILE) March 27, 2024
The “bromance” between Mr Macron and Mr Lula sparked a lot of comment on social media.French President Emmanuel Macron himself shared a meme depicting the two presidents photoshopped into a poster for a 2016 musical drama. la la land Starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. This meme replaces Hollywood actors with Macron and Lula.
Algumas pessoas compararam as imagens da minha visita ao Brasil com as de um casamento, e eu digo a elas: foi um casamento!
Obrigado, @LulaOficial e @JanjaLulaobligado, todos os brasileiros que conheci, pelo acolhimento. pic.twitter.com/IlFsOW96WW
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 28, 2024
“Some people compare the image of my visit to Brazil with that of a wedding, and I tell them: It was a wedding!” France loves Brazil and Brazil loves France. Masu! ” President Macron said in a lengthy social media post in Portuguese.
Continuing his message, Mr. Macron briefly outlined plans for the cities of Belém, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where the two countries will expand scientific, artistic and student exchanges and “develop bilingualism with new languages French and Portuguese.” He mentioned that he had vowed to do so. section. ”
The French president also praised Lula’s election and for “restoring the balance of the system,” which, according to Macron, meant “huge things” for France.
Lula’s predecessor was Jair Bolsonaro, who Lula narrowly defeated. contested Run-off elections in October 2022 – During his term, he endured a difficult relationship with the French president.
In 2019, Macron was at the forefront of disinformation, along with a group of international celebrities motion President Bolsonaro has been accused of “destroying” the Amazon rainforest. At the time, President Macron and other celebrities, including singer Madonna, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, and Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, shared photos of the Amazon rainforest from several years ago and photos taken elsewhere. , claimed they were evidence of an ongoing wildfire emergency and blamed President Bolsonaro. The policy that caused the fire.
In fact, some of the photos were taken by a photographer who died in 2003 during Lula’s first term as president.
Macron also led international pressure. motion Bolsonaro threatened to block an unapproved trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur regional trade bloc over the bushfires issue.
The incident soured relations between Bolsonaro and Macron, with the former Brazilian president saying: impulse President Macron remains silent on Brazil issue.Bolsonaro at the time Asked United Nations member states supported Brazil in its fight against “colonialist” Macron and condemned pressure from European countries that violates the South American nation’s sovereignty.
Contrary to Macron’s claims that Lula has “restored balance to Brazil’s institutions,” a group of Brazilian parliamentarians led by Bolsonaro’s son, incumbent lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, condemned A U.S. Congress hearing on March 12 revealed a campaign of persecution and censorship against dissidents led by Lula’s government.
Vice President Eduardo Bolsonaro (corresponding to the US representative in Brazil) during a Brazilian Independence Day demonstration in Sao Paulo, Brazil, September 7, 2021. (Amauri Nehn/NurPhoto via Getty)
lula explained The relationship between France and Brazil serves as a bridge between the Global South and the developed world to overcome structural inequalities and move towards a more sustainable planet.
“Brazil and France are determined to work together to promote a common worldview through democratic debate,” Lula said after bilateral talks with Macron in Brasilia. “It is based on a vision that prioritizes production over unproductive finance, solidarity over selfishness, democracy over totalitarianism, and sustainability over predatory exploitation.”
According to the Brazilian government, France is Brazil’s third-largest investor, with approximately $38 billion invested. Bilateral trade in 2023 reached her $8.4 billion, of which $2.9 billion was exports from Brazil to European countries.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
