The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has opened the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro with the launch of an alliance to combat hunger, which he described as the “ultimate symbol of our collective tragedy”.
Brazil holds the rotating presidency of the group and is hosting the meeting this Monday and Tuesday, attended by all but two – Russia and Saudi Arabia – of the 19 member countries.
In his speech, Lula recalled attending the first G20 meeting in the US in 2008: “Sixteen years later, I regret to say that the world is worse,” he said.
In a litany of the world’s current troubles, the leftwing leader included the highest number of armed conflicts since the second world war, the largest recorded displacement of people, extreme weather phenomena, and deepening social, racial and gender inequalities.
But Lula said the “scourge that shames humanity” was hunger and poverty, with 733 million undernourished people worldwide, according to figures from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
“In a world that produces nearly 6bn tonnes of food every year, this is unacceptable,” he said, addressing leaders including Joe Biden, China’s Xi Jinping, the UK’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
“It is the task of those gathered around this table to address this shameful scourge that dishonours humanity. For this reason, we have made the launch of a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty the central goal of Brazil’s G20 presidency,” said Lula.
Eighty-one countries have backed the plan, but initially it seemed that only 18 of the 19 G20 members had signed up. Argentina, whose far-right president, Javier Milei, has previously described Lula as a communist, did not initially back the plan but later came around after negotiations.
Earlier, Lula had welcomed all the leaders at the Museum of Modern Art, where the summit is being held. It was the first time Lula and Milei had met face to face, and the coldness of their handshake drew attention.
The Argentinian leader was accompanied by his sister, Karina, who is considered a key figure in his government, and the Brazilian was joined by his wife, Janja da Silva. The four posed for an official photo with Lula but there was none of the whispered conversation that marked Lula’s meetings with other leaders.
Since his election, the Argentinian president has visited Brazil, but has not held any meetings with Lula. In contrast, he recently participated in a CPAC event where he praised and posed for photos with the former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
In addition to joining the alliance late, Argentina has opposed ideas championed by Brazil as the rotating president of the G20 on issues such as taxation of the super-rich, for example.
Last week, Argentina was the only country to vote against a non-binding UN resolution condemning violence against women. Iran, North Korea and Russia abstained.
The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty has a total of 148 signatories, including 82 countries, 26 international organisations, 9 financial institutions, and 31 philanthropic foundations and non-governmental organisations.
“May this summit be marked by the courage to act,” said Lula.
