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UN General Assembly General Debate · 78th regular session of the General Assembly

Address by Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil

Lula at the opening of the General Debate of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on September 19, 2023.
Lula at the opening of the General Debate of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on September 19, 2023.Photo: Ricardo Stuckert / PR, CC BY-SA

Available records

The prepared text may differ from what was actually said. Any significant difference is recorded below.

Quotations are our translation from the Portuguese; the original wording is in the source excerpt.

Documentary record

The Brazilian opening speech of the General Debate of the 78th session was delivered by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.[1]

The speech took place on September 19, 2023, at the 4th plenary meeting of the 78th session, the opening of the General Debate.[2]

Lula spoke in Portuguese; the record notes English interpretation provided by the delegation.[3]

There is an official UN record (A/78/PV.4, in English).[4]

There is an official video on UN Web TV, from September 19, 2023, with a duration of 00:22:31.[5]

Topics, with excerpts from the speech

Each topic is backed by the literal excerpt, given in the source note.

The Planalto published in Portuguese, in the "Speeches and Statements" section, the text of the speech read by the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the opening of the 78th United Nations General Assembly, on September 19, 2023.[6]

Verbatim record A/78/PV.4 states that Lula spoke in Portuguese and that the English interpretation was provided by the delegation.[7]

The official video on UN Web TV, from September 19, 2023, has a duration of 00:22:31 and tracks in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and "Original."[8]

English translation: record A/78/PV.4 reproduces the version identified as "English interpretation provided by the delegation."[9]

In the published text, Lula says that, summed up in one word, the challenges would be "inequality."[10]

In the published text, Lula says that hunger, the central theme of his speech 20 years earlier, affects 735 million people.[11]

In the published text, Lula repeats that "Brazil is back."[12]

In the published text, Lula says that deforestation in the Amazon was reduced by 48% in eight months.[13]

In the published text, Lula calls the representation in the leadership of the IMF and the World Bank unacceptable.[14]

In the published text, Lula says that the war in Ukraine exposes the collective inability to make the UN Charter prevail.[15]

Sources and evidence

Excerpts are quoted in the original language of the source.

  1. 1. The Brazilian opening speech of the General Debate of the 78th session was delivered by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

    • A/78/PV.4 – General Assembly, Seventy-eighth session, 4th plenary meeting · United Nations (General Assembly) Official record
      Where: PDF p. 8, first speech by a head of State after "General debate". Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Address by Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil”
    • Brazil - President Addresses General Debate, 78th Session (UN Web TV) · UN: Department of Global Communications International organization
      Where: page metadata (Summary / Speaker Name). Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, addresses the general debate of the 78th Session of the General Assembly of the UN (New York, 19 - 23 and 26 September 2023).”

  2. 2. The speech took place on September 19, 2023, at the 4th plenary meeting of the 78th session, the opening of the General Debate.

  3. 3. Lula spoke in Portuguese; the record notes English interpretation provided by the delegation.

    • A/78/PV.4 – General Assembly, Seventy-eighth session, 4th plenary meeting · United Nations (General Assembly) Official record
      Where: PDF p. 8. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “President Lula da Silva (spoke in Portuguese; English interpretation provided by the delegation): I would like to greet the President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago.”

  4. 4. There is an official UN record (A/78/PV.4, in English).

  5. 5. There is an official video on UN Web TV, from September 19, 2023, with a duration of 00:22:31.

  6. 6. The Planalto published in Portuguese, in the "Speeches and Statements" section, the text of the speech read by the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the opening of the 78th United Nations General Assembly, on September 19, 2023.

  7. 7. Verbatim record A/78/PV.4 states that Lula spoke in Portuguese and that the English interpretation was provided by the delegation.

  8. 8. The official video on UN Web TV, from September 19, 2023, has a duration of 00:22:31 and tracks in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and "Original."

  9. 9. English translation: record A/78/PV.4 reproduces the version identified as "English interpretation provided by the delegation."

    • A/78/PV.4 – General Assembly, Seventy-eighth session, 4th plenary meeting · United Nations (General Assembly) Official record
      Where: PDF p. 8. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “President Lula da Silva (spoke in Portuguese; English interpretation provided by the delegation): I would like to greet the President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago.”

  10. 10. In the published text, Lula says that, summed up in one word, the challenges would be "inequality."

  11. 11. In the published text, Lula says that hunger, the central theme of his speech 20 years earlier, affects 735 million people.

  12. 12. In the published text, Lula repeats that "Brazil is back."

  13. 13. In the published text, Lula says that deforestation in the Amazon was reduced by 48% in eight months.

  14. 14. In the published text, Lula calls the representation in the leadership of the IMF and the World Bank unacceptable.

  15. 15. In the published text, Lula says that the war in Ukraine exposes the collective inability to make the UN Charter prevail.