China was the country that gave the president the most gifts; books lead the ranking, followed by t-shirts
The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) received a total of 1,150 gifts from the beginning of its 3rd term, which began on January 1, 2023, until August 23 of this year. They were donated by individuals, authorities and Brazilian and foreign entities. China is the country, with the exception of Brazil, that gave the most items to the president.
The Union divided them between bibliographic gifts (444), which include books, periodicals and other reading items, and museum gifts (706), which contain other general items. The most common gifts in 2023 were books (383) and shirts/t-shirts (126) – of which 15 are football shirts. The data was made available by Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic via the Access to Information Law. Here’s the complete of documents (PDF – 1MB).
Among the gifts received from foreign countries, China is at the forefront, with 30 items given to Lula. Most of them (25) were delivered in mid-April, during the president’s visit to the country. In addition to books (8), the PT member was also presented with model cars and ships (5), decorative plates (5) and paintings (3).
He also received 1 kimono, donated by the South China Agricultural University, 1 ornamental vase from Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, and a sculpture of the NDB (New Development Bank, its acronym in English), the Brics Bank.
Brazil and China have maintained diplomatic relations for decades, but since Lula’s return to the Presidency of the Republic the relationship has become closer, compared to the previous government.
During his visit to the country in April, Lula announced the signing of 15 agreements with Chinarelated to the agribusiness, science and technology and communication sectors.
Then, in ranking One of the countries that gave the PT member the most gifts is Japan, which gave 16 gifts to the head of the Brazilian Executive. He mainly received furoshikis (a type of cloth used for wrapping gifts – 3), cups (2) and 1 pair of Sancler Graffit sneakers.
In total, at least 162 items were received from 41 different countries. Of the gifts counted by the government, 13 do not contain information about the country of origin.
The list also includes 1 guitar received by Lula from Chris Martin, lead singer of the band Coldplay. In March, the president met with the singer, accompanied by First Lady Janja Lula da Silva and representatives of the NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Global Citizenan organization dedicated to ending poverty.
Interest in gifts received by the heads of the Executive has grown recently, after the case of alleged buying and selling of jewelry received by the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) of foreign delegations was made public.
During his term, from 2018 to 2022, the former president received 19,470 gifts.
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