São Paulo.- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Thursday that the United States “is going to try to interfere” in next October’s elections in favor of Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“They are going to try to interfere here by trying to help the other side win the election,” stated Lula, the leader in the polls who is seeking his fourth non-consecutive term, in an interview on the ‘Inteligência Ltda’ podcast after being asked about possible maneuvers by the Trump Administration.
The progressive leader stated that the Republican and, “even more so,” his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, support and prefer that Flávio Bolsonaro, second in the polls and candidate for the Liberal Party, wins the election.
“What I can say is that if he (Trump) wants to come and support him (Flávio) electorally, let him come, if he wants, let him come. However, we are going to win the election. We are going to win the election,” he emphasized.
Message to the United States
Despite the tensions, the 80-year-old head of state assured he is “not worried about that” and added that the conversations he has had with Trump “have been very good,” but that the problem is what happens afterwards.
More Read
“Because afterwards Marco Rubio, who does not like Latin America or Brazil, goes around making things happen. They want Latin America to return to being the backyard of the United States,” he denounced.
Lula recalled that in one of his last meetings with Trump, he handed him a series of documents on how to combat organized crime, trade, and the exploitation of rare earths and critical minerals, and that he is still waiting for a response regarding them.
We recommend reading: Brazil’s Supreme Court authorizes investigation into Lula’s eldest son for alleged influence peddling
Last week, the Brazilian government reported that it denied visas to two U.S. State Department officials who intended to meet with electoral authorities in Brazil and discuss matters related to the October elections.
More Read
According to the Foreign Ministry, U.S. emissaries intended to address freedom of expression, but the Lula administration rejected the trip due to how it was proposed.
On the other hand, the U.S. has reactivated its trade war this month by imposing additional tariffs of 25% and 12.5% on a large number of Brazilian products due to alleged “unfair” trade practices and the use of forced labor in their production chains
