Brasilia, Aug. 20, 2026 (Lusa) - Brazilian President Lula da Silva has called for uranium enrichment in the country for peaceful purposes and reiterated his stance on national sovereignty during a visit to the Navy's Aramar Nuclear Industrial Centre.
The issue of national sovereignty has been a frequent theme in the speeches of the Workers' Party (PT) candidate, who is seeking re-election in the October elections.
Such statements have become more common in the wake of the diplomatic crisis between the Planalto Palace and the White House, after the United States designated Brazil's two largest criminal factions as terrorist organisations, with Brasília fearing a military intervention in the country.
Whilst visiting the Brazilian Navy's scientific and military complex in the town of Iperó, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Lula advocated the development of a nuclear-powered submarine, which forms part of the Navy's Nuclear Programme.
«The submarine is important so that we have technology to share and to sell, so that we can enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, as set out in our Constitution, and to sell to the world,» he said.
He stated that it is important to complete the project so that Brazil becomes one of the few countries – alongside the nations with seats on the UN Security Council – to produce a nuclear submarine.
«That is no small matter. We do not have national sovereignty simply because we make speeches. Speeches are just words, because our adversaries sometimes do not even listen,» he emphasised.
«We must be prepared so that they know we will have the strength to say ‘no', to be able to say ‘we will compete',» he said.
«What we cannot do is be a country of this size and keep our heads down the whole time,» he added.
Shortly after visiting the Navy's Isotope Enrichment Laboratory, the Brazilian President stressed that the Government budget, whilst prioritising health and education, must set aside funds for the completion of the nuclear submarine's construction.
Lula pointed out that the project has been underway since 2007 – that is, since the start of the first year of his second term of office – and acknowledged that budgetary obstacles and cuts are hindering the project's completion.
«Something like this cannot be left at the mercy of the volatility of our budget. If we really want a submarine, if it is important for national sovereignty, for Brazil to be respected in the world,» he added.
Before Lula's speech, the Commander of the Navy, Sergio Sampaio Olsen, said that Brazil has the sixth-largest uranium reserves in the world.
Olsen advocated for the continuation of the Navy's Nuclear Programme, which, he said, generates 60,000 direct and indirect jobs and involves 900 companies.
«Under no circumstances can we consider losing the expertise we have acquired so far,» he stated, without directly mentioning the budget cuts facing the Navy, which have already been the subject of criticism by the armed forces directed at the Planalto Palace.
Olsen also pointed out that «the development of a programme aimed at acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine takes place within a very complex geopolitical context».
«This is a dynamic that needs to be analysed in depth, and it demonstrates President [Lula's] full commitment to ensuring the country's sovereignty,» he declared.
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