Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend the formal signing of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement in Asunción, Paraguay, on Saturday, opting to stay in Rio de Janeiro while the South American bloc wraps up one of its most consequential trade deals in decades.

Lula will be the only Mercosur leader absent from the ceremony, which brings together Paraguay’s Santiago Peña, Argentina’s Javier Milei, Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi and Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. 

Brazil will instead be represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.

The decision has drawn attention given Lula’s central role in reviving the agreement since returning to office in 2023. Brazilian media reported that Lula prioritized a bilateral meeting with von der Leyen in Rio on Friday, framing it as sufficient to mark Brazil’s political ownership of the deal.

Speaking alongside von der Leyen in Rio, Lula described the pact as “historic,” saying it would create one of the world’s largest free-trade areas, covering roughly 720 million people. 

Saturday’s signing follows a decisive political step in Brussels earlier this month, when a qualified majority of EU countries approved the deal for signature. 

France, Poland, Austria, Ireland and Hungary opposed the agreement, while Belgium abstained, reflecting lingering concerns — particularly over agricultural imports. To secure backing, the Commission agreed to additional safeguards that would kick in if farm imports from Mercosur surge.

Following the signing, the agreement will enter a potentially lengthy ratification phase in the EU. The European Parliament will need to approve the trade components, while sections extending beyond EU trade competence must also clear national parliaments.