In short
- In his victory speech, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said: “Brazil will not accept being anyone’s backyard.”
- US President Donald Trump said “I like Lula, we get along well” and “I didn’t take sides”, while also calling the Brazilian election “terrible” and “rigged”.
- Trump imposed punitive tariffs on Brazil largely as a political response to the coup trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, which Trump called a “witch-hunt”.
- Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru have all elected presidents closely aligned with the Trump administration.
- Brazil holds the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earth minerals after China, and the US had been eyeing preferential access.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won Brazil’s presidential election, a result that complicates US President Donald Trump’s effort to align Latin America’s governments behind Washington. In his victory speech, Lula said: “Brazil will not accept being anyone’s backyard.” Trump said “I like Lula, we get along well” and “I didn’t take sides”, while also calling the vote “terrible” and “rigged”.
What did Lula say about US interference?
Lula campaigned against what he described as US interference in Brazilian affairs, making sovereignty a central theme. He made speeches invoking Brazilian sovereignty, attacked US involvement in Brazil’s judicial process and wore a blue cap reading “Brazil belongs to Brazilians”. His approval ratings rose. He accused the Bolsonaro family, who had lobbied for US tariffs on Brazil, of being unpatriotic. Trump had imposed the punitive tariffs largely as a political response to the coup trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, which the US president called a “witch-hunt”. The US eventually reduced the tariffs, although they have since risen again.
How did Flávio Bolsonaro respond to the result?
Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula’s rival and the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, refused to recognise the result. Trump did not explicitly endorse him, but the US president was a close ally of Jair Bolsonaro. The outcome gives Lula a fourth term in office, with four more years ahead to manage the relationship.
Why does Brazil matter to Trump’s Latin America strategy?
Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru have all elected presidents closely aligned with the Trump administration, and Trump has sought to use those allies to establish US dominance in the Western Hemisphere under a strategy he has dubbed the “Donroe Doctrine”. Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy, and Christopher Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, said Trump thought Brazil would be the “10th and biggest prize” after Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round of the vote. Brazil also holds the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earth minerals after China, and the US had been eyeing preferential access.
Where could US-Brazil tensions return?
Brazil accused the US earlier this year of trying to cast doubt on its electoral system and denied visas to two State Department officials planning to visit. Washington called this “baseless” and revoked the Brazilian ambassador’s visa in response. Lula has opposed US military action in the region, including the seizure of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and the bombing of alleged drug-trafficking vessels. He also criticised Washington for designating Brazil’s two major gangs as terrorist organisations after lobbying by Flávio Bolsonaro, warning of attacks on Brazilian sovereignty.
What about tech and trade disputes?
Lula’s campaign accused Meta of favouring Flávio Bolsonaro. Meta denied this but admitted that moderation issues and technical errors had wrongly removed some posts or limited their reach, a subject US lawmakers have also asked the company to explain. Lula’s supporters shared his messages through a 10-million-strong WhatsApp group to bypass the algorithms. Separately, the Trump administration is unhappy with Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system, which the US sees as taking business from Visa and Mastercard. The US remains Brazil’s second-biggest trading partner after China.
Frequently asked questions
What did Lula say in his victory speech?
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said “Brazil will not accept being anyone’s backyard”, a line his campaign had used to reject what he described as US interference in Brazilian affairs.
How did Donald Trump react to Lula’s election win?
Trump said “I like Lula, we get along well” and “I didn’t take sides”, but in the same response called the Brazilian election “terrible” and “rigged”.
Why does Brazil matter for US strategy in Latin America?
Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy and holds the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earth minerals after China, and Christopher Sabatini of Chatham House said Trump saw it as the “10th and biggest prize” after Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round.
What is the “Donroe Doctrine”?
It is the name Trump has given to his strategy of using allied governments in the region to establish US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. City skyline silhouette border, cityscape — rawpixel / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
