No one can reap the fruit before planting the trees.
— Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
In Brazil, a poor man goes to jail when he steals. When a rich man steals, he becomes a minister.
I have suggested that Brazilian enterprises invest in Uruguay and Paraguay. These are small economies, so some things can be produced in these countries that will give them greater and more equitable involvement in the Mercosur game.
No one has to agree with everything that someone else says. But in state-to-state relations, we have to understand that we can help each other much more doing it that way. We have to be more generous.
I know what unemployment means because I was unemployed for one-and-a-half years, and I know the drama that the worker and unemployed worker faces. I know the world of the labor union better than I think anyone else does.
I learned during my term and in the presidency that we should not discuss about assumptions or insinuations. If one day I have to do something against the U.S., the first one to get to know what I was going to do would be the president of the U.S.
Since 1990, we have been building up the idea that democracy is the best way for sectors that feel socially excluded from politics to win power.
The thing is that we live in a presidential system with a parliamentary constitution. Congress has a lot of weight in Brazil, and the president cannot always do when he wants; he does what he can.
What most surprises me about Brazil is the extent of the difficulties that we create for ourselves. We create a lot of legislation to control the Brazilian state itself, that this ends up meaning that things don't go with the speed any head of government would like.
A war can perhaps be won single-handedly. But peace - lasting peace - cannot be secured without the support of all.
My greatest desire is that the hope that has overcome fear in my country will help vanquish it around the world.
You're going to be hearing a lot about one scrappy president.
If, at the end of my mandate, all Brazilians have the possibility to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, I will have fulfilled the mission of my life.
If there was one last thing I could do in my life, it would be to help Dilma turn this country around, with the decency that the Brazilian public deserves.
When President Kirchner complains, I often sympathise with him, because Argentina was deindustrialised, and it is perfectly normal for the president of a country to try to get industry back.
Brazil does not want to become an exporter of crude oil. No. We want to be a country that exports oil byproducts - more gasoline, high-quality oil - and to strengthen the petrochemical industry.
I have stated publicly, I want the same things for Iran that I want for Brazil. I want them to use and develop their nuclear energy for peaceful means.
I believe together, with the OAS, everybody condemned the coup d'etat, and everybody is demanding that President Zelaya should go back to the presidency, and they should call for general elections and realize an election. That's what we want. And I believe that President Obama made the right decisions condemning the coup d'etat.
It is important to remember that I am not in the G-8; I am just an invited guest.
I took office as president in January 2003, and in April 2003, I sent to Congress my first proposal for tax reform. Some parts were voted on, with respect to federal taxes, and then it came to a standstill. Why? Because each state is interested in its own tax reform, has its own tax policy, and each state has its federal deputies and senators.
We've advanced in the construction of a true free-trade area across South America... What's needed now is less rhetoric and more action.
Everyone is innocent unless proven otherwise.
Here in Davos, it is generally assumed that there is now only one god - the market.
It is a coup because while the Brazilian Constitution allows for impeachment, it's necessary for the person to have committed what we call high crimes and misdemeanors. And President Dilma did not commit a high crime nor misdemeanor. Therefore, what is happening is an attempt by some to take power by disrespecting the popular vote.
I have known Evo Morales for many years, since the days of the union movement. From a historical and sociological standpoint, the election of Evo Morales is extraordinary, with great prospects and potential for the Bolivian people.
Venezuela needs to develop; economic growth is essential for the country after so many years of lagging behind.
Brazil is a country that has rich people, as you have in New York City, as you have in Berlin or in London. But we also have poor people like in Bangladesh or in African suburbs.
The financial system has to be regulated, we have to end with the tax havens, and it's necessary that the central banks in the world should control a little bit the banks' financing because they cannot bypass a certain range of leverage.
Latin America is convinced that, starting with South America, our way forward is to consolidate the process of integration: not theoretical integration - the integration of speeches - but physical integration, with infrastructure, with roads, with railways, with communications, with energy.
In my opinion, the Doha Round is the most important thing that we can do to reduce inequalities, create opportunities, and develop the poorest countries, face up to the struggle against terrorism and strengthen democracy.
They were two and a half decades in which Brazil had no capacity to invest in infrastructure. Just to give you an idea, in 1989, we had in Brazil about 50,000 project-engineering businesses. When I took office, there were just 8,000. Universities were no longer turning out engineers.
I don't need arms, and neither does anyone else... At the very least, a ban would prevent fights from turning deadly.
Free trade is very important if we respect equality among nations.
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.
