Latest update September 3rd, 2026 10:25 AM
Brazil’s Lula launches reelection bid as concerns rise over foreign interference
(AP) — What is very likely to be the last reelection bid of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was confirmed on Sunday by his Workers’ Party as the 80-year-old leader faces increasing pressure from foreign leaders ahead of October’s elections. It will be his seventh race for the top job.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Lula’s rival, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, has enjoyed open support from members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Brazil’s president said in his party convention speech he wants to boost his country’s defense industry, protect its rare minerals, and claimed “no Chinese, no American, no French will touch” these resources without respecting the South American nation’s sovereignty.
“We will have to be much more daring to change a lot of things in this country,” Lula said.
Lula is counting on some level of interference
The Trump administration has also imposed new tariffs on Brazilian exports and changed the designation of two local criminal groups to terrorist groups, which legal analysts say could hurt companies and open a path for other kinds of intervention. Both moves took place after Sen. Bolsonaro visited the White House and the Department of State.
Argentina’s Milei came to Sao Paulo on July 25 to speak at Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party convention and sparked a diplomatic crisis when he insulted Lula and the Supreme Court justice who oversaw the elder Bolsonaro’s trial and conviction over the attempted coup.
Netanyahu recorded a video in support of the president’s adversary.
Lula has said he is defending Brazil’s national sovereignty. He recently held a long call with China’s President Xi Jinping, the leader of one of Brazil’s most important trading partners.
His supporters say he could lead South American trade bloc Mercosur into striking deals with partners worldwide. Though Brazil is by far the biggest economy in the group, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are also members.
Like his father, Sen. Bolsonaro has recently tried to sow unfounded doubts about Brazil’s voting system. Those statements have raised concerns at Brazil’s foreign ministry, which in July denied visas to two U.S. Department of State officials reportedly due to fears they sought to do the same.
The U.S. Department of State denied that claim in a statement.
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