The PSOE has decided to suspend the campaign event scheduled for Monday, November 16 in Madrid, in which the head of Government and candidate for re-election, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, were to speak, due to a hoarseness that affects the Brazilian leader. However, sources from Moncloa have specified that Lula's institutional visit to Sánchez at the Palacio de la Moncloa continues to be scheduled for that same day.
From the Executive, it had been advanced last Thursday that, in addition to the official meeting at La Moncloa, the celebration of another public event was also on the table in which Lula would express his support for Sánchez ahead of the general elections on November 29.
This will be the first time that Lula travels to Spain since he won the Brazilian presidential elections of October 25 against Flávio Bolsonaro. The head of state will stop in Madrid on his return journey after attending the COP31 climate conference, held in Antalya (Turkey), and the Asean summit, in Manila (Philippines).
At the bilateral meeting scheduled at the Palacio de la Moncloa, both leaders are expected to address the state of relations between Spain and Brazil, as well as coordination on international initiatives such as Democracia Siempre or the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
The visit takes place shortly after the XXX Ibero-American Summit, held in Madrid, which Lula did not attend due to exhaustion stemming from the election campaign in Brazil. Sánchez, for his part, has drawn on the Brazilian example in his pre-campaign events to encourage a socialist victory, despite the fact that polls point to an unfavorable scenario.
The Brazilian president's voice problem had already been conditioning his foreign agenda. As the Brazilian newspaper "Folha de S.Paulo" has reported, Lula could speak this Saturday, but was not in a condition to handle prolonged public appearances. The newspaper details that he already canceled his appearances during his official visit to the Philippines, where he avoided speeches after his meetings and opted to issue written statements.