Lula Rebukes Merz Over Belém Remark as Berlin Seeks to Contain Fallout

Overview

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a business audience that journalists with him were happy to leave Belém, a comment widely read as a slight against the COP30 host city.
• At a bridge inauguration, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urged Merz to have experienced Pará’s culture and cuisine, saying Berlin does not offer “10% of the quality” of Belém.
• Brazilian officials rallied to defend the Amazon and Pará, with Governor Helder Barbalho and Belém’s Mayor Igor Normando condemning the tone, and Rio’s Mayor Eduardo Paes posting an insult before deleting it and softening his message.
• Berlin issued a conciliatory note praising the Amazon and expressing regret over not seeing more of the region, German MPs criticized Merz’s wording, and Greenpeace Germany urged him to apologize.
• Despite the flap, German officials signaled environmental talks continue and that a “substantial” pledge to the Tropical Forests Fund will be announced in the coming days.