Lula is taking on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a second term in less than a year

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva today Monday (22) received former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the Palácio do Planalto.

This is the second time Lula has met Blair in Brazil in less than a year. In September 2023, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom said he was “satisfied” with Lula's return to the presidency. At the event, the two leaders spoke on “Enhancing Global Governance”.

Blair's latest visit to Lula comes after Labour's landslide victory in the UK election. Tony Blair's party returned to power after 14 years and appointed Keir Starmer as the country's new prime minister.

Lula, as a trade union leader and founder of the Labor Party, has a historical relationship with the British Labor Party. During the 1980s, he gained support and solidarity among UK Labor leaders who saw the Brazilian as an ally in promoting labor and progressive causes. He participated in international events and trade union exchanges, strengthening his links with the British labor movement and establishing a basis of cooperation that would last throughout his political career.

During his earlier years as president, he maintained a close relationship with the United Kingdom's Labor governments, particularly during the prime ministers of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. During this time there was an exchange of policies and mutual support in international forums like the G20.

Also, Lula is a friend of Jeremy Corbyn, the historic leader of the British Labor Party, who was re-elected as an independent candidate this year after being expelled from the party. Corbyn has, on several occasions, been involved in the “Lula Livre” campaign while the former president was in prison, and in October 2022 he came to Brazil to closely monitor the current president's victory in the election against Jair Bolsonaro.

Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

Later this week, Lula has another international agenda. The President will attend a meeting on Wednesday (24) to ratify and pre-launch the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. It is an initiative within the scope of the Brazilian presidency of the G20, a group of the world's 20 largest economies that aims to mobilize financial resources from several countries to fight social inequalities around the world.

At a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, constitutional documents should be formalized to enable interested countries to join. Building a global coalition against hunger and poverty is a demand from President Lula, who has made the issue a priority when he takes over the presidency of the G20 in 2023 during the group's summit in New Delhi, India.