Washington: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticised recent US military action in Venezuelan territory, warning that unilateral use of force erodes international law and threatens global stability.
In an opinion essay in The New York Times, Lula said the US bombings in Venezuela and the capture of its president on January 3 marked “yet another regrettable chapter in the continuous erosion of international law and the multilateral order established after World War II.”
Lula is scheduled to visit India next month.
He argued that major powers have increasingly undermined the authority of the United Nations and its Security Council. When force becomes routine rather than exceptional, he wrote, “global peace, security and stability are jeopardized,” and selective adherence to norms weakens both states and the international system.
Lula said heads of state or government can be held accountable for actions that undermine democracy and fundamental rights, but rejected the idea that any country has the right to impose justice on another. “It is not legitimate for another state to arrogate to itself the right to deliver justice,” he wrote.
Unilateral actions, he warned, threaten stability worldwide, disrupt trade and investment, increase refugee flows and weaken states’ ability to confront organized crime and other transnational challenges.
The Brazilian leader expressed particular concern that such practices were being applied to Latin America and the Caribbean, a region he said seeks peace through respect for sovereignty, rejection of force and defense of self-determination. In more than 200 years of independent history, he noted, “this is the first time that South America has come under direct military attack by the United States, though American forces previously intervened in the region.”
Lula emphasised that Latin America and the Caribbean, home to more than 660 million people, have their own interests to defend. In a multipolar world, he said, no country should have its foreign relations questioned for seeking broad engagement. “We will not be subservient to hegemonic endeavors,” he wrote.
He urged governments in the region to pursue a pragmatic agenda that overcomes ideological differences, focusing on attracting investment in physical and digital infrastructure, promoting quality jobs, generating income and expanding trade within the region and beyond. Cooperation, he added, is essential to mobilize resources to fight hunger, poverty, drug trafficking and climate change.
History shows, Lula wrote, that force does not bring countries closer to these goals. The division of the world into zones of influence and neocolonial incursions for strategic resources, he said, are outdated and damaging. Even the strongest powers, he added, cannot rely indefinitely on fear and coercion.
On Venezuela, Lula said the country’s future must remain in the hands of its people. “Only an inclusive political process, led by Venezuelans, will lead to a democratic and sustainable future,” he wrote. Such a process, he added, is essential for millions of Venezuelans, many temporarily sheltered in Brazil, to return home safely.
Lula said Brazil will continue working with the Venezuelan government and people to protect the more than 1,300 miles of shared border and deepen cooperation. He also said his government has engaged in constructive dialogue with Washington, noting that Brazil and the United States are the two most populous democracies in the Americas.
(IANS)
