Lula Slams US: Brazil Won’t Forget Coup Involvement

By Staff, Agencies

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused the United States of “helping stage a coup” in Brazil and criticized what he called Washington’s efforts to exert political pressure to enforce economic punishment on his country.

Speaking at a Workers’ Party event in Brasília on Sunday, Lula warned that Brazil would not accept unequal treatment and is ready to defend its interests on the global stage.

“Trying to use a political issue to economically sanction us is unacceptable,” Lula said, referring to recent US threats to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports.

“I won’t forget that they have already helped stage a coup here,” Lula added.

He did not clarify whether he was referring to Operation Brother Sam in 1964, the 2016 impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff, or the recent attempt by ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to overturn the 2022 election results.

US President Donald Trump tied the tariff threat to what he called a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro, accused of attempting a coup to stay in power. Meanwhile, Washington sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading the investigation.

Lula stressed that Brazil is no longer economically dependent on the United States, citing expanded global trade ties and stronger domestic fundamentals. He also reaffirmed his push for an alternative to the US dollar in international commerce.

“They want to end multilateralism… They want to go back to country-to-country deals where the big dominate the small,” Lula said.

“In other words, a small country negotiating with the United States is like a factory worker with 80,000 coworkers negotiating alone with the boss. The agreement is lopsided; you won’t gain anything.”

“We have size, we have posture, we have strategic and economic interests… We want to negotiate, but we want to negotiate on equal terms,” he added.

Brazil faces a 50% US import tariff—the highest globally—while Trump has also threatened an additional 10% tariff on BRICS members, accusing them of trying to “destroy the dollar as the global standard.”