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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

18 quotes

“Look, my friend. I don't speak the language here, I've got no money, the food stinks, there's no rice, no beans. I'd rather be arrested in Brazil than stay in this dump of a country.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In 1975. Cited in Emir Sader and ‎Ken Silverstein, Without Fear of Being Happy (1991) p. 41
“Brazil has rediscovered itself, and this rediscovery is being expressed in its people's enthusiasm and their desire to mobilize to face the huge problems that lie ahead of us.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'Dialogue with the President of Brazil on Global Governance' at the 'Annual Meeting 2003' of the World Economic Forum (January 26, 2003).
“I am the son of an illiterate father and mother.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: Speech published at villagemagazine.ie (August 2005)
“Brazil is in a solid position. In the past, if the United States sneezed, we caught pneumonia. Today, if the United States sneezes, we sneeze too.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview transcript: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in: Financial Times (July 7, 2006)
“The foundation is in place, and now we have to get to work.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Profile: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva" BBC News (October 29, 2006)
“From an ethical point of view the price difference is grotesque and from a political point of view, it represents a lack of respect, as though a sick Brazilian is inferior.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Brazil to break Aids drug patent", BBC News (May 4, 2007)
“If the US is the country that most contributes with greenhouse gases, in the world, it should assume more responsibility to reduce emissions.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Brazil rejects Bush move on climate change talks" The Guardian (May 31, 2007).
“A long time ago I learned not to put the blame for backwardness in Brazil on the US. We have to blame ourselves. Our backwardness is caused by an elite which for a century didn't think about the majority and subordinated itself to foreign interests.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Brazil rejects Bush move on climate change talks" The Guardian (May 31, 2007).
“This is a crisis that was caused by people, white with blue eyes. And before the crisis they looked as if they knew everything about economics.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Andrew Grice, "Financial crisis 'caused by white men with blue eyes", The Independent (March 27, 2009)
“I want to know if the people are in the shit and I want to take the people out of the shit in which they are." – during a speech in São Luís, the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. After recognizing he cursed, he stated: "Of course I cursed. Tomorrow, commentators of the major newspapers will say that Lula cursed, but I'm aware that they curse more than I do everyday, and I'm aware of how the poor people of this country live.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quero tirar o povo da merda", diz Lula; watch, folha.uol.com, (10 December 2009)
“Se tem uma coisa que eu me orgulho, neste País, é que não tem uma viva alma mais honesta do que eu. Nem dentro da Polícia Federal, nem dentro do Ministério Público, nem dentro da igreja católica, nem dentro da igreja evangélica. Pode ter igual, mas eu duvido.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Testimony to the Federal Police regarding the "Lava-jato Operation" investigation. "'Não tem uma viva alma mais honesta do que eu' afirma Lula", estadao.com.br (January 20, 2016)
“What we can’t have is this country being run governed by a bunch of lunatics. The country doesn’t deserve this and above all the people do not deserve this. Brazil is adrift — so far he doesn’t know what to do.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Does anyone really think the US is going to favour Brazil? [...] Americans think of themselves first, second, third, fourth, fifth – and if there’s any time left over they think about Americans. And these Brazilian lackeys go around thinking the Americans will do anything for us.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in Anna Jean Kaiser and Tom Phillips, "Brazil governed by 'lunatics' and US 'lackeys', says ex-president Lula", The Guardian (April 27, 2019)
“Toda noite me pergunto por que é que todos os países estão obrigados a fazer seu comércio lastreado no dólar. Por que é que nós não podemos fazer o nosso comércio lastreado na nossa moeda? Por que é que nós não temos o compromisso de inovar? Quem é que decidiu que era o dólar a moeda, depois que desapareceu o ouro como paridade?”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Discurso...na cerimônia de posse de Dilma Rousseff na Presidência do NBD", gov.br (13 April 2023)
“O Brasil condena a invasão da Ucrânia pela Rússia.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Discurso...durante almoço com o Rei Felipe VI, da Espanha", gov.br (26 April 2023)
“Toda vez que a gente fala de combater as drogas, possivelmente fosse mais fácil a gente combater os nossos viciados internamente. Os usuários, os usuários são responsáveis pelos traficantes que são vítimas dos usuários também.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: At a press conference in Jakarta, October 2025; reported in Aline Hall de Beuvink, "O traficante de droga, essa 'vítima'", Diário de Notícias (29 October 2025)
“[Q:] So Volodomyr Zelensky should have talked to Putin more, even with 100,000 Russian troops at his border? [A:] I don’t know the President of Ukraine. But his behavior is a bit weird. It seems like he’s part of the spectacle. He is on television morning, noon, and night. He is in the U.K. parliament, the German parliament, the French parliament, the Italian parliament, as if he were waging a political campaign. He should be at the negotiating table. [Q:] Can you really say that to Zelensky? He didn’t want a war, it came to him. [A:] He did want war. If he didn’t want war, he would have negotiated a little more. That’s it. I criticized Putin when I was in Mexico City [in March], saying that it was a mistake to invade. But I don’t think anyone is trying to help create peace. People are stimulating hate against Putin. That won’t solve things! We need to reach an agreement. But people are encouraging [the war]. You are encouraging this guy [Zelensky], and then he thinks he is the cherry on your cake. We should be having a serious conversation: "OK, you were a nice comedian. But let us not make war for you to show up on TV." And we should say to Putin: "You have a lot of weapons, but you don’t need to use them on Ukraine. Let’s talk!”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by Ciara Nugent, "Lula Talks to TIME About Ukraine, Bolsonaro, and Brazil's Fragile Democracy", Time (4 May 2022)
“How can the world’s largest economic power say that it has no milk for children after President Biden announced $40 billion to buy arms meant for the war in Ukraine? (During his presidential campaign in 2022) ... Zelensky is as responsible as Putin for the war. Because in the war, there’s not just one person guilty... (in an interview with Time magazine May 2022) If I win the election we will make an effort for dialogue to establish peace again. We are not interested in any type of war (tweeted in August 2022) The only position that interests Brazil in terms of the question of Ukraine and Russia is peace. The time of war is the time of destruction. The world needs peace, addressing the issue of the climate, and ending hunger. (Tweeted in October 2022)”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (born 1945) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Ben Norton, "Latin America refuses to send Ukraine weapons, despite Western pressure", Geo Political Economy Report (29 January 2023)