2023-08-23 14:20:44
The president of Brazil visited José Mujica in January at his farm in Rincón del Cerro, in Montevideo (Ricardo Stuckert/Handout via REUTERS)
(From Montevideo – Uruguay) – The president of Brazil, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, invited the former Uruguayan president (2010-2015) José Mujica to travel to Cuba to promote a greater opening of the island’s economy and its foreign relations reported the Uruguayan magazine Búsqueda. The Brazilian president has expressed his desire to “reapproximate” the country to Cuba and recently sent his adviser Celso Amorín to that country.
Mujica said that Lula asked him if he would be willing to accompany him. “He is concerned regarding the situation of the Cuban people. I told him yes, if he thinks I have to accompany him, I will accompany him because of the friendship I have with Lula and because of the importance of Brazil,” Mujica told the 12 PM program of Azul FM. “I don’t like long trips, but some exception can be made,” added the former Uruguayan president.
The trip still does not have a date, although the Uruguayan newspaper assures that it will take place before the end of the year. Members of the governments of Uruguay and Brazil are already aware of the agreement between the two leaders.
The information also circulates in diplomatic circles and is seen “with good eyes” by the representatives of different governments.
The president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, and the former Uruguayan president José Mujica promote an integration plan between countries of the region
The idea that Lula and Mujica have is to visit the island to meet with government authorities and representatives of civil society, with the intention of helping them promote greater openness and offering their local and international support.
The concern of the leaders is also in the supply problems suffered by part of the Cuban population.
Lula and Mujica maintain a close relationship. The former Uruguayan president accompanied him at the closing of the campaign when the current president of Brazil was a candidate. Then, following assuming office, the Brazilian visited the Uruguayan at his farm in Rincón del Cerro.
Both leaders have been working for months on the concretion of measures to achieve the integration of Latin America, a theme that has been recurring in their meetings. When they met in July, Lula reported on his Twitter account that they talked regarding “the need to reindustrialize” the region, “the potential for reintegration between brother countries” and the “return of Brazil to the international scene.” “It’s always good to see you,” wrote the president of Brazil.
After a meeting in March, meanwhile, Lula posted: “Comrade Pepe Mujica is no longer in the presidency of Uruguay, but we are going to work to strengthen Latin America, Celac and Unasur. Let’s think regarding what we can do to unite neighboring countries more.”
The integration of Latin America is a recurring theme in the conversations between Lula da Silva and José Mujica (EFE/Marcelo Sayão/File)
In February, Mujica led a meeting in a country house near his home with the participation of front-line officials from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. It was a kind of parallel summit to define progress in a regional integration project that the former Uruguayan president proposed to lead, Búsqueda reported at the time.
In his days as a guerrilla, Mujica had a close relationship with Cuba, a country he visited during his presidency. However, he has also criticized the lack of change in the island’s policies for decades.
Another trip that Mujica has committed is to Chile in September, to participate in the events for the anniversary of the Coup d’état.
In addition, he has a flight to Brazil in the pipeline to speak with players in the dairy market, a sector that is in trouble and is one of the main destinations for Uruguayan exports in this area. “You have to do everything you can to make it work. Perhaps I take a little trip to solve… there are many small dairy farmers who, if the price of milk is lowered, will have a hard time. I have many friends who live behind the cows, ”Mujica said in his radio statements.
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