Socialist President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pressured President Donald Trump to make changes to his proposed “Board of Peace” to solve global conflicts on Monday, demanding in a phone call that Trump invite the non-existent nation of “Palestine” to participate.

President Trump launched the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, last week, with its first mission set as aiding in the reconstruction and assurance of peace in the Gaza Strip. Reports indicate that 25 countries have accepted invites to participate in the project, meant to offer support to Israel and the people of Gaza in the long-term eradication of the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas and establishment of security in the area. The debut of the Board of Peace immediately preceded Israel announcing on Monday that it had rescued the body of the last known hostage taken by Hamas during its gruesome siege of the country on October 7, 2023.

The government of Brazil, one of several members of the anti-American BRICS coalition that Trump invited to participate in the Board of Peace, has yet to accept or reject the invitation. A top foreign policy adviser for Lula mused in an interview last week that his government, which has accused Israel of “genocide” for defending itself against Hamas, was concerned about the potential that the Board of Peace had to help solve other international conflicts beyond Gaza – and expand Trump’s influence around the globe.

According to the Brazilian presidential office, Planalto, Lula addressed that concern in conversation with Trump directly by making specific demands for how Trump should run the Board.

“Commenting on the invitation offered to Brazil to participate in the Board of Peace, Lula proposed that the body presented by the United States limit itself to the issue of Gaza and include a seat for Palestine [sic],” Planalto shared in a readout of the call. “In this context, he reiterated the importance of a comprehensive reform to the United Nations, which includes the expansion of permanent members of the Security Council.”

The entity that leftists and Islamist around the world typically refer to as “Palestine” is the Palestinian Authority that controls the West Bank, but has no authority over Gaza. Gaza was governed by Hamas between 2007 and the war that it began on October 7, 2023. The Planalto readout did not specify if Lula was referring to the Palestinian Authority or clarify how inviting its leadership to the Board of Peace would improve its performance.

Lula and his government have been overtly skeptical of the Board of Peace since its announcement, warning that it could become more effective than the notoriously bureaucratic United Nations.

During remarks on January 23, Lula told supporters he was worried that the Board of Peace was reinforcing “survival of the fittest” and eroding the significance of the U.N.

“Instead of people trying to fix the U.N., which people have been demanding since I was president in 2003 … what is happening is: President Trump is proposing the creation of a new U.N. in which he alone is the owner of the U.N.,” Lula complained.

Lula’s top foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim expressed the same concerns in remarks to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo last week, calling the idea “confusing.”

“The letter [invitation to the Board of Peace] is confusing because it starts to talk about one thing and then it starts lengthening the appendix document,” Amorim explained. “It represents, in practice, a revocation of the UN, over all in the area of peace and security. This part, certainly, I don’t see how to accept.”

Amorim also complained that the establishing document of the Board of Peace was not limited to helping fix Gaza.

“I don’t think that it is extending to other topics, like economic or commercial questions, but yes to any conflict. It would be like a Security Council, only with a practically permanent president,” Amorim stated.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested during the debut of the Board of Peace at Davos that this was the case – and that such a move was necessary due to the uselessness of other international forums.

“A lot of times, people like to give speeches. I’ve been to many of these forums, and they’re not useless, and … they have utility in many cases,” Rubio said, “but oftentimes in international affairs, we often find ourselves at events where people are reading these scripted statements, these strongly worded letters that they put out, but no action. Nothing happens. This is a group of leaders that are about action.”

In general, Planalto referred to the phone call between Lula and Trump on Monday as friendly and positive. The two reportedly discussed “the good relationship built in the past few months, which resulted in the lifting of a significant portion of sanctions applied on Brazilian products.” President Trump imposed a 50-percent tariff on Brazilian goods in July in response to the pervasive persecution of conservative voices, most prominently former President Jair Bolsonaro, by Lula’s government. Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2025 on dubious charges of attempting to orchestrate a coup following his loss to Lula in the 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro supporters contend that Lula’s participation in that election should have been illegal as he had been convicted on multiple appeals on corruption charges for acts taking place during his last two terms as head of state.

Lula and Trump also reportedly discussed the situation in neighboring Venezuela. Lula was once an enthusiastic supporter of the socialist regime but stopped supporting deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro following the 2024 sham election. The Brazilian government confirmed at the end of that year that it had blocked Venezuela from being offered BRICS membership due to a “breach of trust” – Lula demanded that Maduro publish vote tallies proving his electoral win, which the latter never did. Opposition leader María Corina Machado, using local teams collecting ballots on the ground, had published vote tallies proving Maduro lost decisively to Venezuela’s legitimate President-elect Edmundo González.

Maduro was removed from power on January 3, when a U.S. military operation in Caracas apprehended him and wife Cilia Flores, wanted in the United States on several narco-terrorism charges. Maduro is currently imprisoned in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial.

“Lula and Trump shared perspectives about the situation in Venezuela,” Lula’s office shared. “The Brazilian president highlighted the importance of preserving peace and stability in the region and working for the wellbeing of the Venezuelan people.”

Lula is expected to visit the White House to meet with Trump in the near future; the call confirmed the two discussed the visit.

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