Posted by Rachel
President Lula is making a big splash in the U.S. this week, where he’s attending several important events. 
First, he accepted an award from the Woodrow Wilson Center, where he celebrated with other world leaders. Yesterday, he attended the UN General Assembly in New York, where he gave a long speech (watch and read the speech here). Now he is off to Pittsburgh for the G20 Summit.
Also, Lula was featured in Newsweek this week as “the most popular politician on earth” — read the article here. There’s also a special Q and A section with Lula available on the Newsweek website.
Posted by Rachel
Oliver Stone’s new documentary, South of the Border, is due to be released soon, and President Lula will appear, along with several other Latin American presidents, including the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Cuba, and starring Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Check out the trailer below, and listen closely to the clip with Lula! (the rest is in Spanish)
Posted by Rachel
At this week’s G-8 summit in Italy, President Lula of Brazil gave President Obama an official Brazil soccer jersey signed by members of the national team.
The signatures included those of “Edmílson, Gomes, Lúcio, Vágner Love, Daniel Carvalho, Gilberto Silva, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Elano, Robinho, Júlio Baptista, Alex and Dida.”
President Lula also teased President Obama about the US team’s 3-2 loss to Brazil last week, chanting “Yes, we can” several times. Obama joked about the game and took the teasing lightly, making a sad face while holding up the shirt to show his disappointment in the US loss. Lula also gave the same signed shirts to members of the G-5 earlier in the week.
Posted by Rachel
Quotas are a very contentious issue in Brazil right now, as the government decides whether it will impose racial quotas in federal universities. The issue has divided Brazilians, but last week, the Sao Paulo state government made an important decision to uphold quotas. 
The government ruled that Sao Paulo Fashion Week, one of the most important fashion events in the country, must include a minimum of 10 percent black and indigenous models. In past events, black and indigenous models made up just 2 percent of total number of runway models.
Despite the fact that Brazil has the largest population of African descendants outside of Africa, blacks account for few high profile positions in entertainment, like models or actresses. In fact, black Brazilian models have complained that it is harder to find work in Brazil than abroad. The ruling hopes to change this trend, at least at this particular event.
Sao Paulo Fashion Week will be held June 15 - 22 this year.
Posted by Rachel
President Lula Inacio da Silva made a historic visit to Saudi Arabia this week, the first of its kind for a Brazilian president. He met with King Abdullah, as well as Abdurrahman al-Attiyah, the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council. President Lula went with Brazilian businessmen, but also discussed political and cultural ties.
Officially, the visit was meant to be a political move. The Brazilian government wants to use Saudi Arabia as a jumping off point for strengthening ties with the rest of the Middle East.
But in reality, the visit focused largely on trade with Saudi Arabia. Brazil and Saudi Arabia are already commercial partners; annual trade between the two countries amounts to US$5.5 billion. Brazil is Saudi Arabia’s #1 supplier of frozen chicken, and is also a major supplier of beef. During the visit, the Saudis expressed interest in extending trade in pharmaceuticals, oil exploration, and agriculture. Also, the Gulf Cooperation Council is interested in a free trade agreement with Mercosur, of which Brazil is a key player.
On Sunday, President Lula and King Abdullah signed a cooperation agreement in the areas of oil, mining, science, and infrastructure, and to increase trade between the two countries.
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