What are the highlights and keypoints from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, UNGA 2026 Speech?

Here are the highlights and excerpts from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, speaking at the General Debate of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, New York, September 22, 2026. By tradition, Brazil opens the General Debate, so Lula was the first head of state to take the podium.

Highlights

• The UN is broken and must be rebuilt. Lula declared that "the UN is failing in one of its most important missions: to rid humanity of the scourge of war. Its credibility has never been lower. Its ability to protect the most vulnerable, those who have no army or arsenals, has never been so weak." He argued the organization's standing has been hollowed out by paralysis in the Security Council, the abuse of veto powers, and rising geopolitical tensions. He stated that the global community has become a hostage to the Security Council's failure to handle major crises and fulfill its fundamental peacekeeping role.

• Brazil belongs to no one's backyard. The speech's most direct political charge was aimed at what Lula called neocolonial pressure from major powers. He said: "In Latin America and the Caribbean, geographical proximity to the world's greatest military power is inescapable, especially in the context of resurgent hegemonic ambitions. Brazil doesn't belong in anyone's backyard." He said democracy was "once again under threat," referring to foreign interventions in elections as "colonial incursions."

• Hands off Brazil's election. Lula warned that Brazil would not allow either domestic or foreign actors to undermine its October 4 vote, in which he is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term. He closed with the line: "Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians." He added that Brazil will monitor disinformation networks and "will not allow" internal or external enemies to override the vote.

• Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba: let them be. Lula cited what he called "neocolonial" pressure over elections and resources across the region, arguing that Venezuelans must decide their own fate, that Nicaragua cannot fix itself by locking out the opposition, that Haiti's humanitarian crisis needs genuine help, and that the Cuba embargo should end. He indirectly took aim at the US seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, saying the Venezuelan people have the right to self-determination.

• Gaza and Ukraine: diplomacy, not war. On Gaza, he said the "pain and trauma" of what he described as the "genocide" there will be carried by generations of Palestinians. He warned that the conflict in Gaza is expanding "dangerously" to Lebanon, adding to calls for a ceasefire. On Ukraine, he said the conflict has continued to claim lives and that there would be "no winners on the battlefield."

• Tariffs as weapons and the WTO in crisis. Lula warned: "When governments capitulate to those who use tariffs as weapons of coercion and blackmail, the consequences are disastrous." He said the multilateral trading system, overseen by the World Trade Organization, has worsened sharply, with unilateral measures rendering core principles meaningless, disrupting value chains, and pushing the global economy into "a pernicious spiral of high prices and stagnation."

• Climate and the hunger alliance. Lula called for decarbonizing economies, protecting forests, and supporting the energy transition through technology transfer. He also attacked COVID and vaccine denialism, the weakening of the World Health Organization, and the disappearance of climate ambition from G7 and G20 agendas. Brazil also highlighted its Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty initiative, a mechanism seeking to mobilize governments, international organizations, and financial institutions to support food security, social protection, and income-generation policies.

• Rein in Big Tech and AI. Lula called for regulation of Big Tech companies and AI, warning that "a handful of techno-oligarchs want to resurrect a version of digital neoliberalism."

In his own words

On the UN's failure: "The UN is failing in one of its most important missions: to rid humanity of the scourge of war. Its credibility has never been lower. Its ability to protect the most vulnerable, those who have no army or arsenals, has never been so weak."

On sovereignty and Latin America: "In Latin America and the Caribbean, geographical proximity to the world's greatest military power is inescapable, especially in the context of resurgent hegemonic ambitions. Brazil doesn't belong in anyone's backyard."

On Brazil's election: "Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians." "Brazil will remain a sovereign country."

On trade and tariffs: "When governments capitulate to those who use tariffs as weapons of coercion and blackmail, the consequences are disastrous."

On multilateralism: He urged countries to choose between multilateralism and unilateralism, democracy and extremism, and sovereignty and subordination, saying "these choices require courage, political will and clarity of objectives."

Worth knowing

By longstanding UN protocol, Brazil always opens the General Debate, a tradition that dates back decades and gives the country an outsized platform regardless of its current standing on the world stage. This was Lula's tenth time opening the General Debate of the UN General Assembly.

Lula reiterated his call for reform of the UN Security Council, arguing its current makeup is a legacy of colonialism. Brazil is part of the G4 grouping with Germany, India, and Japan, which supports permanent representation for all four countries in a reformed Security Council.

The speech landed with particular force because it came immediately before President Donald Trump took the same podium, and the two leaders offered sharply opposing worldviews. Where Lula called for decarbonizing economies and supporting the energy transition through technology transfer, Trump followed with a rejection of global climate and AI regulations, dismissing warnings about global warming while presenting fossil fuel abundance as a foundation of national power.

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