Brazil has returned Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the presidency for four more years, and he won by turning Washington's meddling into a question of national dignity. In a region where Donald Trump has been assembling a network of aligned governments, Brazil stands as the largest economy that will not simply fall into line, and the friction between a proud former union leader and a Washington bent on dominance reveals how old habits of hemispheric power still shape the politics of sovereignty. The result is a reminder that even in a domestic contest, the question of who speaks for the nation is
Lula's Brazilian comeback complicates Trump's Latin American ambitions
Brazil will not accept being anyone's backyard.
Mark
Why does a line about being nobody's backyard matter so much?
Mimi
Because it turned foreign pressure into a patriotic issue. Lula wore a cap saying Brazil belongs to Brazilians, and he accused the Bolsonaro family, who lobbied for the tariffs, of being unpatriotic.
Luke
Worth saying plainly: the piece says elections are rarely won on foreign policy. It calls this a campaigning tool, not the cause of the victory.
Mark
And Trump's reaction was odd, wasn't it?
Mimi
He said he likes Lula and gets along with him, then called the election terrible and rigged. He also said he didn't take sides.
Luke
He never explicitly endorsed Flávio Bolsonaro, that's true. But he was close to Jair Bolsonaro. And the electoral court found no evidence of irregularities.
Mark
What does Washington lose here?
Mimi
Brazil was meant to be the biggest prize in the right-leaning shift: Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Peru. It's also the largest economy in the region, with the second-largest rare earth reserves.
Luke
The 'tenth and biggest prize' framing is Christopher Sabatini's account of what Trump thought. It's an analyst's reading, not something Trump is quoted saying.
Mark
Where could it go wrong next?
Mimi
Election doubts, the gang terror designations, Meta, Pix, and US military action in the region.
Luke
And none of that is settled. The article describes risks, not events. The two leaders get on for now, and the US is still Brazil's second-biggest trading partner.
Der Puls
- Trump has called Brazil's election result rigged even as he says he likes Lula, leaving Washington's position deliberately unsettled.
- Lula's campaign against US interference turned a tariff dispute into a patriotic rallying cry that embarrassed the Bolsonaro family.
- Washington's plans for a regional coalition against narco-trafficking now face a large and stubborn holdout in Brazil.
- Disputes over the electoral system, gang designations, US military action, Meta and the Pix payment system could reignite the quarrel at any moment.
- For now the two leaders are on speaking terms and trade ties remain strong, but the next flashpoint will test how far that calm can hold.
Brazil has returned Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the presidency for four more years, and he won by turning Washington's meddling into a question of national dignity. In a region where Donald Trump has been assembling a network of aligned governments, Brazil stands as the largest economy that will not simply fall into line, and the friction between a proud former union leader and a Washington bent on dominance reveals how old habits of hemispheric power still shape the politics of sovereignty. The result is a reminder that even in a domestic contest, the question of who speaks for the nation is often answered by who is seen to bow to whom.
In his victory speech, Lula told Brazilians that their country would not be anyone's backyard. The words were aimed at Washington, and they helped him win an election that was not really about foreign policy, though his defiance of American interference gave his campaign a patriotic charge that suited his image as a union leader who stands up to the powerful.
The result also left Trump in an awkward position. He said he likes Lula and had not taken sides, yet he called the election terrible and rigged, even though Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court found no evidence of irregularities. His close ties to Jair Bolsonaro, whose son Flávio lost, help explain the mixed tone.
A year earlier, relations had been at rock bottom. Trump had imposed punitive tariffs tied to Bolsonaro's coup trial, and Lula had said he would not call the American president. Lula fought back where other allies had quietly accommodated Washington, and his popularity rose. Even parts of the agricultural lobby, which usually backs Bolsonaro, grew uneasy about the trade pressure. The tariffs were eventually cut, and the two men later met in the Oval Office.
The tensions have not disappeared. Brazil is Latin America's largest economy and holds major rare earth reserves, and Washington had hoped to bring it into a coalition of right-leaning governments. Disputes over the electoral system, the designation of Brazilian gangs as terrorists, US military action in the region, Meta's moderation and the Pix payment system all remain live. Whether the current calm endures will depend on how far Washington presses and how firmly Lula answers.
In his victory speech, Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told the country that Brazil would not accept being anyone's backyard. The line was aimed at Washington, and it captured how he won a race that, like most domestic elections, was not decided on foreign policy.
His defiance of what he calls US interference in Brazilian affairs nonetheless gave the campaign a patriotic charge. It also fit his image as a former union leader who stands up to powerful figures. Strangely, it appears to have won him some respect from Donald Trump. Responding to the result, Trump said he likes Lula and that they get along well, and that he had not taken sides. In the same breath he called the election terrible and rigged.
The mixed message reflects a tangled relationship. Trump never explicitly endorsed Lula's rival, Flávio Bolsonaro, who has refused to recognise the result even though the Supreme Electoral Court found no evidence of irregularities. But Trump was a close ally of Flávio's father, the former president Jair Bolsonaro.
About a year ago, the BBC's reporter met Lula at his residence, and relations were at rock bottom. Lula said he had no relationship with Trump, that the two had never spoken, and that he did not plan to call. Trump had just imposed punitive tariffs on Brazil, largely as a political response to Jair Bolsonaro's coup trial, which he called a witch-hunt.
Where some US allies tiptoed around Trump, Lula fought back. He gave fiery speeches about sovereignty, attacked US interference in the judicial process, and took to wearing a blue cap reading "Brazil belongs to Brazilians." His approval ratings rose. He accused the Bolsonaro family, who had lobbied for the tariffs, of being unpatriotic, a blow to a right that usually claims patriotism as its own. Even parts of the agricultural lobby, normally strong Bolsonaro supporters but dependent on US trade, thought he had a point. The US eventually backed down and cut the tariffs, though they have since risen again. Relations improved: the two men spoke at the United Nations and later met in the Oval Office, where Trump called the talks very good and Lula said he left very satisfied.
Still, Trump has reasons to be unhappy. Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru have all elected presidents closely aligned with his administration, and he has tried to use them to build US dominance in the Western Hemisphere, a strategy he calls the "Donroe Doctrine." Christopher Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, notes that after Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round, Trump thought Brazil would be the "10th and biggest prize." Brazil is Latin America's largest economy, and the younger Bolsonaro was expected to join Trump's "Shield of Americas" coalition against narco-trafficking. Brazil also holds the world's second-largest rare earth reserves after China, and the US had been eyeing preferential access.
Several disputes could flare again over Lula's four more years. Earlier this year Brazil accused the US of trying to cast doubt on its electoral system and denied visas to two State Department officials planning a visit. The US called the accusation baseless and revoked the Brazilian ambassador's visa. If Trump keeps calling the result rigged, further fallout is likely. Lula has also strongly opposed US military action in the region, from the seizure of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela to the bombing of alleged drug-trafficking vessels. He criticised Washington for designating Brazil's two major gangs as terrorist organisations after lobbying by Flávio Bolsonaro, and warned of attacks on Brazilian sovereignty. The subject is sensitive for a left that remembers the region's brutal 20th-century dictatorships, many backed by the CIA in the name of stopping communism.
Tech is another front. Lula's campaign accused Meta of favouring Flávio Bolsonaro. Meta denied it but admitted that moderation issues and technical errors had wrongly removed some posts or limited their reach. Lula's supporters shared his messages through a 10-million-strong WhatsApp group to get around the algorithms. Separately, the Trump administration dislikes Pix, Brazil's instant payment system, which has boosted the economy but which the US sees as taking business from Visa and Mastercard.
The divide showed in the campaign. Bolsonaro supporters waved US flags at rallies and, in one case, an inflatable reading "Trump Nuke Brazil," while Lula's side accused Flávio Bolsonaro of putting US interests ahead of Brazil's. Tensions can be overstated, though: the US remains Brazil's second-biggest trading partner after China, and for now the two leaders get along. Whether that holds will depend on how far Washington tries to intervene in Brazilian affairs, and how combative Lula is in reply.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
I like Lula, we get along well. I didn't take sides.— Donald Trump, responding to the election result
Brazil will not accept being anyone's backyard.— Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, victory speech
Möchten Sie die ganze Geschichte?
Das Original lesen bei BBC News ↗
Politics & Governance