The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has made explicit in Barcelona his support for the “no to war” raised by the president of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, after holding the I Spain-Brazil Summit. “My dear friend Pedro Sánchez, I understand you when you say no to war. We watch in astonishment a new arms race,” he said at the end of the meeting. For his part, the president of the Government highlighted in his speech that Spain and Brazil share “the same vision of the world, anchored in the defense of democracy, international cooperation, respect for international law and human rights, and peace.”
Lula recalled that Spain was a “laboratory of World War II, the horror suffered by Spain anticipated the greatest slaughter in history.” Now, he continued, “several regions of the world are in conflict again, we watch in astonishment a new arms race, women and children die, AI replaces ethics. That is why I perfectly understand when you say no to war,” he said addressing Sánchez.
📺LIVE TV | Lula da Silva: “We watch in astonishment a new arms race. That is why, my dear Pedro Sánchez, I perfectly understand when you say ‘No to war.’ We fight for a just society” https://t.co/pS4diWfagE pic.twitter.com/KyVrsOuXWK
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais) April 17, 2026
Sánchez said that Madrid and Brasilia want to “redouble efforts to work for peace and for renewed multilateralism.” “While others open wounds, we want to close them, heal them, focus on what is important, to curb inequality in our societies and among nations and respond to the great challenges of humanity, such as the climate emergency, and give a humanistic perspective to technological development,” he said. He also stated that democracy and peace are being “attacked by the global reactionary wave, authoritarianisms, and disinformation,” so he defended the Meeting in Defense of Democracy that several world leaders are starring in this Saturday in Barcelona.
Along the same lines, Lula warned that in recent years the concentration of wealth is increasing and human rights “conquered with blood and sweat” are being eliminated. “Democracy has been weakening and extremism gained strength and body there,” lamented Lula, who also warns that the United Nations “is very weakened.” “The Security Council was created to guarantee peace, but now the nations that created the UN do not respect it.”
Military honors
Lula arrived this Friday at the Pedralbes palace in Barcelona, where he was received by Sánchez with military honors, with the presence of the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa. In a message on social media, Illa stated that hosting the Spain-Brazil summit has been “an honor.” “At a time like this, progressives must unite to defend democracies against extremisms,” Illa wrote, accompanying an image in which he is seen greeting Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva alongside the Spanish Government president.
The bilateral meeting was attended by about ten ministers from each side and a series of agreements were signed that will increase collaboration between Spain and Brazil.
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