Brazil’s Lula Urges Trump to Show Responsibility, Rejects US Interference

By Staff, Agencies

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has called on US President Donald Trump to conduct himself with greater responsibility on the global stage, warning Washington against acting as “the emperor of the world”.

In an interview with PBS ahead of his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Lula stressed that the United States, as the world’s largest economy and most powerful military, must lead by example through respect for sovereignty and non-interference.

“I think President Trump needs to have the behavior of a head of state, of a statesman of the largest economy in the world, of the biggest military power in the world, the most technological country in the world,” Lula said through an interpreter. “A country with such greatness and such might has to have much more responsibility. What we do not accept is that any country in the world interferes in our democracy and our sovereignty”.

Rejecting Trump’s repeated accusations of unfair trade practices, Lula pointed out that the US has enjoyed a $410 billion trade surplus with Brazil over the past 15 years. He underlined the independence of Brazil’s judiciary, saying neither the presidency nor foreign governments have authority over its decisions, including the recent conviction of former president Jair Bolsonaro for attempting a coup.

In his General Assembly speech, Lula denounced the punitive tariffs and sanctions imposed by Washington in response to Bolsonaro’s trial, calling them “unilateral and arbitrary measures against our institutions and our economy”.

Trump, who spoke immediately afterward, escalated the dispute by accusing Brazil of “censorship, repression… judicial corruption and targeting of political critics.” However, he later softened his tone, recalling a brief encounter with Lula backstage. “He seemed like a very nice man, actually. He liked me, I liked him… At least for about 39 seconds we had excellent chemistry. It’s a good sign,” Trump told the audience.

The US president also revealed that he and Lula planned to meet next week, though he added a sharp rebuke, claiming “Brazil is doing poorly… Without us they will fail”.

Relations between Washington and Brasília have deteriorated sharply since Trump accused Lula of orchestrating a “witch hunt” against the “highly respected” Bolsonaro and slapped a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports in August. Brasília has vowed to defend its sovereignty and warned that further interference could damage more than two centuries of bilateral ties.