Brazilian Bromance Blooms: ‘Amazonian Amore’ Between Macron and Lula Takes the Internet By Storm

Wedding pictures or an official visit? Fans on social media are enthralled by the alleged “bromance” between Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron.

On a journey to the Amazonian jungle during his three-day visit to Brazil, 46-year-old Macron was seen grinning and giving Lula, 78, a hearty embrace. Since then, a lot of the pictures have been widely shared on Brazilian social media platforms, along with clever remarks and montages.

One photo, which originally showed the leaders lifting their arms behind a big tree, has been altered to reveal them clutching red balloons shaped like hearts. Another shows the couple drifting along the Amazon River in a boat, hand in hand, grinning as they gaze out to the horizon.

Some on X joked that “they are going to marry in the Amazon and have their honeymoon in Paris,” while others suggested that the photos taken throughout the trip may be used to create a wedding album.

Macron’s cordial relationship with Lula contrasts with the chilly one between the French president and Jair Bolsonaro, the former right-wing president of Brazil, who served as head of state from 2019 to 2022.

When he meets Lula in the presidential palace on Thursday, his journey comes to an end. During his visit, the two leaders unveiled a proposal to spend billions of dollars on the Amazon ecosystem.

France, ranking seventh globally in terms of GDP, and Brazil, ranking ninth, are significant participants in a geopolitical landscape characterized by competition between China and the United States.

Paris views Brasilia as a link to the big developing markets, whose voices Brazil is attempting to raise with its G20 chairmanship and BRICS+ membership.