Paraguayan lawmakers condemn Lula's war remarks as trivializing the Paraguayan War

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the Paraguayan War began when "Paraguay decided to invade Brazil" while defending increased defense spending and a stronger armed forces. In response, Raúl Latorre, president of the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies, issued a statement accusing Lula of treating the conflict “with levity” and called it the greatest tragedy and genocide in the continent’s history. Other Paraguayan deputies and senators, including Rubén Rubín and Esperanza Martínez, also denounced the remarks as a distortion of history and an echo of Brazilian imperialism. Lula made the comments during a visit to Avibras Aeroco in Jacareí, São Paulo, emphasizing the need for the military to be prepared against “people mad enough to want war.”