‘You Need Balls to Take the Argentineans,’ vents Brazil’s Lula

Argentina reacted coolly to an alleged critical expression from Brazilian President Lula da Silva during his recent visit to Japan and reported in the Brazilian press.

Apparently, President Lula during a meeting at the Brazilian embassy in Tokyo said that “you need a lot of balls (patience) to endure the Argentines”(“temos de ter saco para aturar a Argentina.”)


The expression “ter saco,” while not kind is very common in colloquial Portuguese in Brazil and it means to “have patience.” The Argentinean newspaper, El Clarí­n, however, translated it as “hay que tener bolas,” meaning “you need to be macho,” with an added degree of crassness.


Lula further on added that “many are recommending me to just kick the whole thing (“strategic alliance with Argentina”), but I think Brazil must tolerate the Argentines”.


The expression was said in the context of reactions to recent statements by Argentine Foreign Affairs minister Rafael Bielsa criticizing Brazil’s aspiration of becoming a permanent member of the Security Council if a United Nations reform program is finally approved.


President Lula da Silva also admitted to his advisors and delegation that relations with Argentine president Nestor Kirchner were not going “through the best of moments”.


Argentina’s Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez when asked about the incident said he preferred not to comment since he didn’t know about details “in depth” and “I prefer to talk with all the facts on the table”.


“The expression seems rather strong coming from a president”, added Mr. Fernandez in direct reference to the report published in Folha de S. Paulo’s Sunday edition.


Rifts between Presidents Kirchner and Lula have become quite common. During a recent summit in Brazil which convened South American and Arab leaders, President Kirchner left the meeting unexpectedly apparently disappointed with President Lula da Silva’s foreign policy.


Argentina is insistent in privileging regional integration (Mercosur, South American community of nations), but Brazil is more interested in playing a global role and is lobbying strongly for UN Security Council reforms with Germany, Japan, India and South Africa.


In effect the Brazilian press reported Sunday that President Lula da Silva has in effect become a globe trotter with 41 overseas trips since taking office 29 months ago.


President Lula da Silva has completed three times the number of trips of US President George Bush and four times those of John Paul II who was also known as the peregrine Pope, highlighted Rio’s daily Jornal do Brasil.


This article appeared originally in Mercopress – www.mercopress.com.

Tags:

You May Also Like

Elections in Quibocó

Together with two other policemen, Ofrênio went to the place and confirmed the fact: ...

Brazil Petrobras Shares Jump 4.5% on New Oil Discovery News

Petrobras shares rose Friday, December 21, a day after Brazil's government owned oil company ...

IMF Lavishes Praise on Brazil

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the 10th and ...

The Chinazation of Brazil and the Country’s Role Inside the BRICS

In recent years Brazil has taken its ambitions of becoming a global power to ...

Ethanol pump in Brazil

84% of Cars Sold in Brazil Run on Ethanol, Gasoline, or Both

Flex-fuel vehicles, with technology that enables them to be fueled with alcohol, gasoline, or ...

Brazil Spends US$ 30 Million This Year to Become Heavyweight Tourist Destination

Brazil has started a new international tourism campaign with the message “Brazil is calling ...

Brazil to Use Deforested Areas for Sustainable Development Programs

Brazil’s Minister of Environment, Marina Silva, affirmed, yesterday, June 29, that a sustainable development ...

Brazzil Hates Brazil!

Brazil has a very small minority which is fiercely anti-American. These people are jealous ...

Brazil Cites Own Constitution to Recognize Bolivia’s Right to Nationalize Oil

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s press secretary released a statement in which ...

World Crisis Puts a US$ 40 Billion Dent in Brazil Exports this Year

From January to September Brazil's trade surplus  totaled US$ 21.275 billion, a figure 8.1% ...