Brasilia: The Puebla Group, an alliance made up of progressive leaders from 16 Latin American and European countries, will debate from today until tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro on the development perspective of the region, Prensa Latina publishes.
According to the organizers, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will host the meeting organized by the forum founded in July 2019 in the Mexican city of Puebla during a period of political resistance, amid coups and the dismantling of the effort regional union.
Lula will be in charge of closing tomorrow at 18:00 local time at the State University of Rio (UERJ) the work of the meeting with the seminar entitled Equality and the future of Latin America.
“This event aims to discuss democracy and equality in Latin America, as well as future prospects, especially after the challenges we have all suffered with the Covid-19 pandemic,” the rector of the UERJ, Ricardo Lodi, said.
He specified that the need to invest heavily in education, health, science and technology to guarantee a better quality of life for the population will be highlighted.
Another seven activities promoted by the group will include the presence of former Brazilian head of state Dilma Rousseff and former governors José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (Spain), Ernesto Samper (Colombia) and Fernando Lugo (Paraguay).
Even Rousseff, Samper and Lugo will be together this Tuesday at a table on “A new model of development in solidarity.”
Also participating in the meeting are other important Latin American leaders, such as the Argentine Minister for Women, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, the president of the Movement for National Regeneration (Morena), Mario Delgado (Mexico), and Colombian senator Clara López.
The helmsman of the Workers’ Party (PT) of Brazil, Gleisi Hoffmann, the former Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim and the president of the Perseu Abramo Foundation, Aloizio Mercadante, also appear on the program.
On Saturday Lula arrived in Rio to participate in the Red Festival, which celebrates the centenary of the Brazilian Communist Party.
After the Puebla Group event, the PT leader will continue in the state for a series of meetings and agendas with candidates for the October general elections.
After recovering his political rights in March 2021, the former president appears as a favorite in all opinion polls heading to the elections, in which the far-right leader Jair Bolsonario hopes to be re-elected and former judge Sérgio Moro aspires to power.