Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday that Brazil should not become a mere exporter of rare earths and critical minerals, arguing that the country must use domestic research to develop higher-value uses for its mineral wealth.
"We never valued research, science and education in Brazil. We will not be exporters of rare earths and critical minerals; we will solve this here, with research," Lula said at a meeting with science and technology leaders at the headquarters of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science, known by its Portuguese acronym SBPC.
Rare earths are a group of minerals used in advanced manufacturing, including electronics, batteries, defense systems and clean-energy technologies. Brazil has significant mineral potential, but Lula's remarks framed the issue less as a mining question than as an industrial and sovereignty agenda: the country, he argued, should avoid remaining at the low end of global supply chains.
The president also appealed to Brazil's Congress to remove scientific research investment from the constraints of the country's fiscal framework. Brazil's federal budget is heavily earmarked, and the government's current spending rule limits how fast expenditures can grow.
"I learned that we always have a tight budget. It is like an airplane blanket; you choose what you can cover," Lula said, according to CNN Brasil. He criticized what he described as a tendency to treat education and research as costs while accepting large debt-service payments as unavoidable.
Lula tied the research agenda to public health and national resilience. He said Brazil's universal public health system, the SUS, only received proper recognition after the Covid-19 pandemic. "That tragedy had to happen for the SUS to stand tall, an authority that saved many people," he said.
The president also linked science policy to the international balance of power, saying that a lack of research leaves Brazil "outside the dispute, watching Trump and Xi Jinping fight." His reference was to the strategic rivalry between the United States and China, especially in technologies and supply chains tied to critical minerals.
In the same remarks, Lula again defended investment in Brazil's armed forces, saying the country needs a serious plan for its land borders and maritime borders. He argued earlier Friday that defense spending should be strengthened so that no foreign power can interfere in Brazil, citing what he called the risk of wars started by unstable leaders.
The comments fit a broader theme of Lula's current term: using state policy, public research and industrial strategy to make Brazil less dependent on foreign technology and less exposed to geopolitical pressure. The immediate proposal, however, would require political support in Congress, where any change to fiscal rules or spending exemptions tends to face resistance from lawmakers focused on budget discipline.
This article is based on single-source reporting from CNN Brasil.