Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has warned U.S. President Donald Trump not to interfere in Brazil’s elections.
According to U.S. media reports, Lula made the remarks to journalists following the G7 Summit in France.
“Do not interfere in Brazil’s elections because Brazil’s elections are Brazil’s business,” Lula said.
The Brazilian leader noted that Trump may have his own personal and ideological preferences, but stressed that nations must respect each other’s sovereignty.
Brazil’s general elections are scheduled to take place on October 4.
Background
In the second round of Brazil’s presidential election on October 30, 2022, left-wing candidate Lula da Silva defeated then-President Jair Bolsonaro. Lula was sworn into office on January 1, 2023.
Following the announcement of the election results, Bolsonaro supporters staged days of highway blockades across the country. On January 8, 2023, demonstrators breached police barriers and stormed the National Congress building while calling for military intervention.
On November 26, 2024, Brazil’s Federal Police alleged that Bolsonaro had been involved in a planned coup attempt against Lula’s government. On March 26, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court unanimously accepted an indictment filed by prosecutors against Bolsonaro and six others over the alleged coup plot.
In a letter sent to Lula on July 9, 2025, President Trump threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports starting August 1 unless legal proceedings against Bolsonaro were terminated.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Supreme Court yesterday upheld a sentence of four years and two months in prison for Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, after finding that he had attempted to involve the U.S. administration in efforts to halt the coup-related case against his father.