Lula Defends Brazil’s Sovereignty at the United Nations

In a forceful address to the UN General Assembly, Brazil’s president positioned the country as a defender of democracy, climate justice, and the self-determination of nations in the Global South.

On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened the Eightieth Session of the United Nations General Assembly with a speech that felt both defiant and visionary. Speaking not just as the leader of a nation but as a statesman of the Global South, Lula reaffirmed his commitment to defending Brazil’s democratic institutions and asserted the country’s sovereignty in the face of pressures from the Global North. His message was clear: despite years of polarization that have shaken the Americas, Brazil remains a robust, free, and independent democracy.

Central to Lula’s speech was Brazil’s recent “stress test” for democracy: the historic conviction of former president Jair Bolsonaro. In a decision that sent shockwaves across the political spectrum, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court upheld charges that included armed criminal conspiracy, attempted abolition of the democratic order, attempted coup d’état, and aggravated damage to public property. Bolsonaro’s sentence — 27 years and 3 months in a closed prison regime — makes him the first president in Brazil’s history to be convicted for attempting to subvert democracy.

Lula hailed the ruling as proof that Brazil has “given a show” in defending democracy, turning the page on an era of authoritarian flirtations and political violence. The Brazilian's President also used the UN stage to push back against what he views as economic coercion from abroad. He condemned former U.S. president Donald Trump’s “exorbitant” sanctions on Brazilian exports, calling them arbitrary measures that destabilize global trade and amount to an assault on Brazil’s sovereignty.

Yet Lula’s speech was not just defensive. It was also deeply global in its outlook. He spoke candidly about the world’s most urgent crises, naming the ongoing atrocities in Gaza as a genocide of the Palestinian people perpetrated by the Israeli government. He denounced military intervention in Venezuela and imperialist policies targeting Cuba and Haiti, framing them as part of a wider pattern of disregard for the self-determination of nations in the Global South.

Climate justice, too, figured prominently.

With COP-30 on the horizon, Lula challenged not only the major economies of the Global North but also resource-extractive economies in the Global South to end deforestation and curb emissions. He announced a new compensation program for countries that align with the climate agenda — a move that positions Brazil as both a critic of environmental inaction and a leader proposing concrete solutions.

What made Lula’s address resonate was its combination of diplomatic poise and moral urgency. At a time when hate speech, genocide, unrestrained capitalism, deforestation, and the erosion of democratic norms have driven nations toward conflict and despair, Lula sought to cast Brazil as a beacon — a country willing to confront uncomfortable truths and offer a vision of a different future.

This is more than a speech. It signals a recalibration of Brazil’s role in global politics. Lula seems determined to reclaim Brazil’s place as a champion of multilateralism, human rights, and the principle of self-determination — and to resist the creeping advance of far-right authoritarianism worldwide. By embracing its ethnic, social, creative, environmental, and economic strengths, Brazil is positioning itself not as a passive player in a fractured world order, but as a guarantor of rights and a defender of hope. The message was unmistakable: there will be no turning back.