“We’ve agreed to meet next week,” said the US head of state during his speech at the high-level debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, which kicked off today in New York.
Donald Trump, who spoke right after Lula da Silva, said he had met the Brazilian head of state in the corridors of the United Nations between speeches and that they had “great chemistry”.
“We saw each other, he saw me, and we hugged,” Donald Trump revealed to the representatives of the UN member states, including Lula da Silva, accompanied by the Brazilian delegation.
“I only do business with people I like. When I don’t like them, I don’t like them. But for 39 seconds, we had great chemistry and that’s a good sign,” he emphasised.
Even so, before the compliments, Trump said that “Brazil faces heavy tariffs in response to your unprecedented efforts to interfere with rights and freedoms”, through “censorship, repression, armament, judicial corruption and persecution of political critics in the United States”.
Lula da Silva, who spoke before the US President, said that the “aggression against the judiciary is unacceptable”, in a reference to Washington’s behaviour towards Brazil.
“Even under unprecedented attack, Brazil chose to resist and defend its democracy, which its people reconquered 40 years ago after two decades of dictatorial governments,” said Lula da Silva, in a reference to the 27-year and three-month prison sentence handed down to former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on 11 September for attacking the democratic rule of law.
In a direct reference to the behaviour of the United States during the trial, Lula da Silva also stressed that “there is no justification for unilateral and arbitrary measures against” Brazilian institutions and the economy.
On Monday, the United States imposed new sanctions on Brazilians, this time targeting the wife of Judge Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur in the case against Jair Bolsonaro, as well as the company in which Viviane Barci and her children are partners.
This action has further sharpened the diplomatic conflict between the two countries due to the condemnation of the former Brazilian president, a political ally of US President Donald Trump, who sees the trial as a “witch hunt” against Jair Bolsonaro and who has therefore applied 50% tariffs to various Brazilian products.
“False patriots who plot and publicly promote actions against Brazil,” Lula da Silva also said, referring to Eduardo Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s son, who is in the United States and who on Monday was accused of working with the US government to impose sanctions against Brazil and judicial authorities.
“Our democracy and our sovereignty are non-negotiable. We will continue as an independent nation and as a people free from any kind of tutelage,” reiterated Lula da Silva, saying that “there is no pacification with impunity”.
Platform with Lusa
