Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reiterated the importance of integration among the countries of South America to strengthen and consolidate the continent’s position on the international stage.
According to Lula, the consolidation of this integration, so long promised by South American leaders, requires more than just rhetorical resources.
“It has to mean the construction of roads, bridges, highways, railroads, waterways, airports, and communications, so that people can move around,” the President remarked.
The President once again commented that the 21st century will belong to Brazil, just as the 19th was Europe’s and the 20th, that of the United States.
“We will not let the 21st century escape. It will belong to Brazil and South America, but, for this to happen, we must believe in and work for it,” Lula emphasized.
Regarding the development of the Mercosur, Lula pointed out that it is important for Brazil and Argentina, as more developed countries, to support Paraguay and Uruguay.
Lula made these declarations yesterday, February 22, during a speech in Corumbá, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where he went to sign the terms for the implantation of a Mining and Steel Pole in that city.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil