Brazilia’s Lula opens G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brazil with stark warning: ‘The world is worse’

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, expressing deep concern over rising global tensions and conflicts while launching a major initiative to combat world hunger.

This marks the first time Brazil has held the presidency of the G20, a group comprising the world’s 20 largest economies. Lula placed eradicating hunger and poverty at the forefront of the summit’s agenda.

“I observe with sadness that the world is worse: we have the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II and the largest number of forced displacements ever recorded,” Lula said during his opening remarks.

He cited alarming statistics from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), reporting that 733 million people still suffer from malnutrition in 2024. Lula emphasized that the scale of this crisis equals the combined populations of Brazil, Mexico, Germany, the U.K., South Africa, and Canada.

“In a world that produces nearly 6 billion tons of food annually, this is unacceptable. In a world where military spending reaches 2.4 trillion dollars, this is unacceptable,” Lula added, underscoring the need for immediate action.

The summit takes place amid escalating global tensions, particularly surrounding the conflicts in Ukraine and the ongoing violence between Israel and Palestine. Lula highlighted the G20’s significant economic power, noting that its members account for 85% of global GDP and $32 trillion in trade of goods and services. He called on the group to leverage this influence to end world hunger.

“It is up to those around this table to take on the urgent task of ending this wound that shames humanity. Therefore, we have made the launch of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty a central goal of Brazil’s presidency in the G20,” Lula announced. He described the alliance as Brazil’s intended legacy from its G20 leadership.

The initiative builds on Brazil’s own efforts to combat hunger, with Lula noting that more than 24.5 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty in under two years of the program’s implementation. The goal is for Brazil to be removed from the Hunger Map by 2026.

As of November 15, 37 countries had joined the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

The G20 includes 19 nations—Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Russia, Türkiye, the U.K., and the U.S.—along with the African Union and the European Union. Collectively, they represent 85% of global GDP, over 75% of world trade, and around two-thirds of the world’s population.