Will Lula miss the Davos Forum again? Official programming has Simone Tebet

Since taking office for his 3rd term, in 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not yet attended the Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he was a frequent figure and, at times, protagonist, on several occasions during his first administrations. And, it seems, he will also be missing in 2026.

Among the top names in the Brazilian government, the official program this year only features the Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet.

Lula had already left clues about his absence in an interview at the end of last year, when he informed that he would have few international trips in 2026, as he would dedicate more time to internal agendas, due to the presidential election.

The president confirmed that he will go to India with a delegation of businesspeople in February, a trip that will be completed in South Korea, when he is expected to discuss the opening of the local market for Brazilian beef. In April, he should also attend the Hannover Industrial Fair, in Germany.

With this, Lula must choose to send a representative to Davos, as has already happened in 2023 (Fernando Haddad), 2024 (Marina Silva, Nísia Trindade and Alexandre Silveira), and 2025 (with Silveira again, in addition to the then president of the STF, Luís Roberto Barroso).

The chosen one was Simone Tebet, who should participate on Wednesday (21) in the panel “Breaking the growth ceiling in Latin America”, alongside Julio Velarde, president of the Central Bank of Peru; Altagracia Gómez Sierra, coordinator of the Business Advisory Council, Office of the Presidency of Mexico; Juan Carlos Mora, executive director of Bancolombia; Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and Gillian R. Tett, Dean of King’s College, University of Cambridge.

Also read: World Economic Forum: Global cooperation shows resilience in the face of uncertainty

Davos focuses on cooperation and dialogue

This year’s Forum is scheduled to take place between January 19th and 23rd and is expected to bring together a record 400 high-level political leaders, including around 65 heads of state and government – ​​among them, six G7 leaders are expected.

In addition, around 850 of the world’s top CEOs and company presidents are expected, and almost 100 major unicorns and technology pioneers.

The main theme chosen is “A Spirit of Dialogue”, an attempt to highlight the importance of a global focus on cooperation even amidst the admittedly most complex geopolitical scenario of recent decades – marked by increasing fragmentation and rapid technological changes.

“Dialogue is not a luxury in times of uncertainty; it is an urgent necessity,” Børge Brende, president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, said recently. “At a critical moment for international cooperation – marked by profound geo-economic and technological transformation – this year’s Annual Meeting will be one of the most remarkable”, he predicted.

On the afternoon of Wednesday (21), a speech is expected from President Donald Trump, who promised to take his main secretaries of State to Davos. American newspapers said that the President of the United States conditioned his visit on the promise that themes from the so-called “woke agenda” would not be on the official schedule.

A little later on the same day, the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, will also speak. And he has already promised to reprise his criticisms made last year of progressive (“socialist”, in his definition) agendas and other issues dear to the left such as immigration, environmental protection, feminism and diversity.

Milei is not among the heads of state who will debate the topic “Rebuilding Trust in Latin America” the day before. Confirmed for the panel are: Jose Raul Mulino Quintero, president of Panama; Daniel Noboa Azín, president of Ecuador; and Raquel Peña, vice president of the Dominican Republic.