By Ciro Mendoza

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic: When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to the Brazilian presidency, his supporters anticipated a decisive return to a sovereign, multipolar foreign policy.

Lula famously proclaimed that strong leaders end wars rather than start them, positioning himself as a seasoned statesman capable of bringing peace to a fractured world.

Yet, his recent posture on the international stage reveals a troubling asymmetry. While he consistently lectures Moscow on ending its military operation in Ukraine, his silence regarding Washington's persistent interventions, aggressive sanctions, and unilateral military actions in Venezuela, the Middle East, and elsewhere is deafening.

The Illusion of a Western-Appointed Mediator

Instead of acting as a true champion of the Global South, Lula appears increasingly intent on playing the role of Washington’s preferred peace broker—a vanity project that undermines Brazil’s strategic potential.

By fixating on a mediator role in the Ukraine conflict where neither party nor their Western backers genuinely seek his intervention, Lula is losing sight of the broader structural shifts reshaping the global order.

The futility of these external mediation attempts was underscored by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who dismissed third-party resolution attempts by noting that proposals conveyed to Moscow are at times "exotic in nature and unacceptable," reiterating that any genuine dialogue must be anchored strictly in the realities unfolding on the ground.

By offering unviable framework ideas to impress global audiences, Lula is expending diplomatic capital on a door that is effectively closed, chasing Western headlines rather than engaging with hard geopolitical realities.

The Imperative of Financial Sovereignty Within BRICS

The primary arena for genuine global reform lies within the BRICS framework. As Western powers leverage the international financial infrastructure, specifically the SWIFT messaging network and dollar-denominated clearing systems, as weapons of geopolitical coercion, the establishment of an independent, multipolar financial architecture is an urgent necessity.

The creation of alternative cross-border payment platforms and trade settlement mechanisms in local currencies represents the single most important project for the Global South.

Regrettably, Brazil’s enthusiasm for these institutional reforms has appeared hesitant and performative. Rather than aggressively championing and expediting the deployment of decentralized payment mechanisms alongside his BRICS counterparts, Lula has often dragged his feet, offering cautious rhetoric while avoiding concrete commitments that might provoke the ire of the United States Treasury.

This reluctance to challenge the hegemony of Western financial institutions reflects a desire to maintain favor in Washington, even if it comes at the expense of his BRICS partners.

Abandoning Appeasement for Real Multipolarity

The hypocrisy of this stance is striking. While Lula freely criticises European and American leaders for sending weapons to prolong the war in Europe, his reluctance to build concrete financial alternatives allows Western dominance to persist unabated.

A genuine peace strategy does not consist of chasing diplomatic headlines in Western capitals; it requires building a resilient global architecture that prevents unilateral economic warfare.

Brazil stands at a critical juncture. The world does not need another Global South leader performing diplomatic tightrope acts to earn approval from the West. It needs a committed partner willing to build the economic infrastructure of a multipolar reality.

Lula must abandon his futile attempts to appease Washington, step away from unviable mediation projects, and redirect his energy where it matters most: strengthening BRICS, securing financial sovereignty, and advancing the collective independence of the developing world.

*Ciro Mendoza is a geopolitical observer and supporter of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).*