November 18, 2024
Lula da Silva receives Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, X/ @NachoRgz
“it is unacceptable that trillions of dollars are allocated to military expenditures.”
On Monday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva inaugurated the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Rio de Janeiro, emphasizing that eradicating hunger is essential to achieving a world at peace. He went on to say that it is unacceptable that trillions of dollars are allocated to military expenditures.
The progressive leader painted a grim picture for the heads of state and government of the world’s most powerful economies, including Joe Biden (United States) and Xi Jinping (China).
“Today, the world is worse off. We have the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II and the largest number of forced displacements ever recorded. Extreme climate phenomena are showing their devastating effects in all corners of the planet,” he said and denounced the widening social gaps in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left a world with 733 million hungry people.
“Such a figure is as if the combined populations of Brazil, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Canada were going hungry,” warned Lula, who deemed it “unacceptable” that trillions of dollars are allocated to military expenditures and called on G20 leaders to end hunger, a “scourge that shames humanity.”
“Hunger and poverty are not the result of scarcity or natural phenomena but are the product of political decisions that perpetuate the exclusion of a large part of humanity,” said the Brazilian president, who experienced hunger firsthand during his childhood in Brazil’s harsh northeastern region
Lula’s statements came moments after the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, an initiative spearheaded by the Brazilian president and founded with 147 members, among which Argentina, currently led by far-right President Javier Milei, is notably absent.
Over the next two days, G20 leaders will meet at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro to discuss how to eradicate hunger, reform international organizations, and advance the energy transition.
Currently, the G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As of 2024, it also includes two regional bodies: the European Union and the African Union.
Source: Telesur