While signing the decree establishing the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide on Wednesday (Feb. 4), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva argued that combating femicide and all forms of violence against women should be the responsibility of society – but above all of men.

“It’s not enough not to be an aggressor. We must also fight to ensure there are no more attacks. Every man in this country has a mission to fulfill,” he said during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace.

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The pact outlines coordinated and permanent action among the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil. The novelty, Lula said, is that for the first time they are assuming that the responsibility for defending women is not only women’s.

“We’re telling the Brazilian trade union movement that this is a topic for factory gates and workers’ assemblies. We’re telling congressmen and congresswomen that this is a topic for all their speeches,” he said.

“We’re trying to raise awareness among children, because it’s the duty of our teachers, as it’s a topic that spans from nursery school to university. This is an opportunity to create a new civilization, a civilization in which it’s not gender that makes the difference, but rather behavior and respect,” he added.

The ceremony was opened by First Lady Janja da Silva. She read a story narrated by a woman who was assaulted by her boyfriend, beaten in public, but who did not get help from people who witnessed the assault.

“We are all committed to creating a society where women can live in peace. We want you, men, in this fight, by our side,” she said.

Brazilian judiciary and legislative

Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin, argued that the changes should not be limited to the letter of the law. “We must act on several fronts to prevent, hold accountable, and protect [women],” he declared.

“Changing the law is important, but it is not enough. Changing the law must be accompanied by a change of hearts and minds in the state, in society, and most importantly, in families. This change begins when we start to act,” he went on to say.

The judiciary, he pointed out, signed this pact “with a sense of urgency and hope, committing itself fully to the initiative.” “True peace is not born of fear and silence, but flourishes when there is protection, freedom, and dignity,” he concluded.

Lower house speaker Hugo Motta noted that Brazil ended 2025 with an average of four women murdered per day.

“It is inconceivable that we allow these numbers to continue. This action [as outlined in the pact] cannot be delayed,” he said, stating that the legislative branch will work to toughen laws in order to punish “those who act in this way, through violence against women.”

“You can count on our priority in this agenda to change this reality,” he concluded.

Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said that Brazilian institutions are united in purposes such as this. “Femicide is not just statistics, but an open wound in Brazilian society,” which needs to be treated as a problem of the state, not of the government.

“[Femicide] is the cruelest side of violence that affects the lives of thousands every day. And the pact is, above all, a commitment between institutions and a declaration of responsibility by the Brazilian state, which reaffirms one of its fundamental duties to combat femicide with the utmost rigor, with absolute priority, and with permanent action,” he stated.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that Latin America and the Caribbean will only solve their problems if they face them together. On Wednesday (Jan. 28), during the opening of the International Economic Forum – Latin America and the Caribbean 2026, in Panama, Lula highlighted the region’s political and economic assets which, through regional integration, could benefit all countries and make them more relevant on the world stage.

“Remaining divided makes us all more fragile,” the president stated during the forum’s opening session, citing the “exceptional economic, geographic, demographic, political, and cultural qualities” that Latin American and Caribbean countries have “to aspire to a relevant presence in the global context.”

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Lula added that, to achieve these objectives, it is essential for regional leaders to be committed to institutional mechanisms and to “articulate, in a balanced way, the distinct national interests of our region.”

According to Lula, regional leaders lack conviction about the benefits of adopting a more autonomous international integration project. In this sense, he suggested that countries in the region take into account unexplored riches that could ensure a competitive position in the global order.

“We have political and economic assets that can give substance to the integration effort,” the president noted, listing among them the energy potential of oil and gas reserves, hydroelectric power, biofuels, and energy generated from nuclear, wind, and solar sources.

The president also cited as assets the fact that the region has the largest tropical forest on the planet, as well as its varied soil and climate conditions and scientific and technological advances in food production.

“We also possess abundant resources, including critical minerals and rare earths, essential for the energy and digital transition,” the Brazilian president said, adding that “critical minerals and rare earths only make sense if they enrich our countries and if we have the courage to build partnerships that generate wealth, jobs, and development in our countries.”

Lula recalled that, together, the countries of the region form a consumer market of more than 660 million people. He also stressed that there are no serious conflicts among the countries participating in the forum and that, predominantly, all governments were democratically elected.

“Latin America and the Caribbean are unique. It is up to us to assume that the possible integration will be based on a plurality of options. Guided by pragmatism, we can overcome ideological differences and build solid and positive partnerships within and outside the region. This is the only doctrine that suits us,” he highlighted.

“There is no possibility that any country in Latin America, on its own, can think it will solve its problems. We have 525 years of history. Often, colonization does not come through the interference of others, but through the cultural formation of our peoples. We need to change our behavior. Let us create a bloc - a bloc that can say we will end hunger in our countries,” he concluded.

As a special guest, the Brazilian president was the second to speak, immediately after the host country’s president, José Raúl Mulino.

The International Economic Forum of Latin America and the Caribbean will run until January 30.