Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said US President Donald Trump has no right to govern or impose his will on other countries.
Lula made the remarks in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour ahead of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The Brazilian leader said Trump was elected to govern the United States and should respect the sovereignty of other nations.
“President Trump was elected to be the US president. He has the right to govern the US, but he doesn’t have the right to govern other countries,” Lula said.
“He doesn’t have the right to impose his will. He has to have the willingness to negotiate.”
Lula criticised what he described as Trump’s approach of allowing the strongest or wealthiest country to dictate terms to others.
“He has a way of governing that I’m stronger, I’m the mightiest, I’m the richest, I can do everything, and all the others have to obey. I don’t agree with that. It’s the stronger law.”
Lula Criticises US Tariffs
The Brazilian president also criticised tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Brazilian imports.
In July, the United States imposed a 25 per cent tariff on certain Brazilian goods following a year-long investigation by the US Trade Representative.
Washington said the measures were linked to what it described as “unreasonable Brazilian policies” affecting digital trade, electronic payments, intellectual property, ethanol market access, anti-corruption enforcement and illegal deforestation.
Lula rejected the justification, describing the tariffs as “based on lies”.
He said Brazil had responded by seeking stronger trade relationships with other countries.
According to Lula, Brazil’s exports to the US fell by nine per cent, while imports from the US declined by 8.5 per cent following the tariffs.
He said trade with China increased by 20 per cent, while trade with Japan rose by 18 per cent and trade with Germany increased by 60 per cent.
Trade between Brazil and the European Union, he added, grew by 23 per cent.
“So I’m not going to just try to cry out about the milk that was spilled on the floor. I’m going to seek other partners to try to buy and sell,” Lula said.
He said Brazil remained open to negotiations with the US but could consider retaliatory measures if talks failed.
“I don’t want to go to a tariff war with the US and neither with any other country,” he said.
Lula Raises Concern Over Brazil Elections
Lula also warned against alleged US interference in Brazil’s elections.
He said he was concerned about suspected interference involving artificial intelligence but acknowledged that there was no concrete evidence.
“There’s some clues of interference, of artificial intelligence going on. I’m a little bit concerned with Marco Rubio, because Marco Rubio is very close to the Bolsonaro’s family,” Lula said.
“But for the meanwhile, we just have suspicion. There’s nothing concrete.”
Lula Criticises US Role in Venezuela
The Brazilian president also criticised the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela.
He said the United States had created the impression that it was governing Venezuela following the reported capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the subsequent swearing-in of Delcy Rodríguez as interim president.
“The US conveys the idea that they’re governing Venezuela,” Lula said.
“Every document that we read, the agreements, it looks like the US is the big boss of Venezuela. The sovereignty of the country has ended.”
Lula said the situation was not good for Venezuela, the US or democracy.
He argued that Venezuela should determine its political future through elections rather than having its affairs directed by another country.
“If I was Delsi, the president, I would call for election, national election, so that people could choose who’s going to be the next president of the country,” Lula said
