Brazil’s ambivalent stance on human rights and democracy under Lula goes hand in hand with its attitude toward nuclear proliferation. A signatory in the 1960’s of the Tlatelolco Treaty, which banned nuclear weapons from Latin America, Brazil dismantled its enrichment process and research facilities during the 1990’s and ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1998.
卢拉还对查韦斯在委内瑞拉日益严厉的统治手段不闻不问，从未就委国拘禁反对派、阻挠新闻出版、反对工人或学生结社、操纵选举等事发出质询或抗议。巴西企业，特别是建筑公司，在委内瑞拉的投资及承建项目很多。卢拉也利用其与卡斯特罗兄弟和查韦斯的关系平息党内左翼势力对其务实经济政策的不满。