Africa-Press – South-Africa. Brazil’s President Lula da Silva held a bilateral meeting with ANC leaders on Tuesday, after which ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said there had been discussions about surviving political difficulties and facing coalition governance.
Da Silva is in the country to attend the BRICS summit, which is set to get under way in Sandton.
Brazil’s leader also met with former ANC president Thabo Mbeki.
Da Silva, who served time in prison for corruption, was again elected as Brazil’s president in January 2023.
He is viewed as a revolutionary and a campaigner for anti-poverty campaigners – and he is broadly admired by the ANC and its alliance partners, including Cosatu and the SACP.
After the meeting, Mbalula told the media that Da Silva gave the ANC feedback on how to survive as a party facing difficulties as well as an electoral environment which was pushing the party to form alliances.
“We focused largely on interparty challenges and how to survive under difficult circumstances. We also spoke about anti-imperialism,” Mbalula said.
ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe said the ANC had learnt a lesson on how to handle coalitions.
“We have learnt a lesson about the period which Brazil went through, that was a very critical period, and the fact that President Lula recovered and came back as the president of the Republic. We also drew very important lessons on how they managed the question of coalitions because there is no party that is a majority party.
“They piece together ideas of various parties, and he gave an insight into what is happening. What works there is a question of respecting each other, and it’s important for the ANC to learn from that,” Mantashe said.
Da Silva will attend the BRICS summit with other leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi, and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will be attending the summit virtually.
Mbalula said Da Silva spoke about the possible expanding of BRICS, and that it would be discussed by the leaders at the summit.
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