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Tariffs and accusations
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro of being behind the United States’ renewed push for new tariffs on Brazilian exports, saying they were responsible for the “renovada pretensión del Gobierno de Estados Unidos de imponer nuevos aranceles del 25%”.
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Lula responded to a recent visit by Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro to Trump at the Casa Blanca, and he asked during an event in the municipality of Catalão: “¿Qué se merecen los traidores a la patria que van a pedir la intervención de un país en nuestro pueblo?”.
The U.S. Department of Commerce proposed increasing by 25% the tariffs on Brazilian exports, framing it as retaliation for “las supuestas dificultades” Lula’s government poses to trade and for issues including “la deforestación ilegal, la piratería o la corrupción”.
In parallel, the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. had held “varias reuniones constructivas” with Lula and his cabinet, while still citing “ciertas acciones, políticas y prácticas” by Brasilia that “perjudican o restringen el comercio estadounidense”.
Rubio’s “not a friend” list
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the American Senate that Brazil is not among Washington’s friends on the continent, placing it alongside Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela in a statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In the same context, Rubio said: “Es fantástico que, con excepciones como Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela y, por supuesto, Brasil, aunque es un país en pleno proceso electoral”.
Lula reacted by calling Rubio a “mortal enemy” of Latin America, and he said Rubio “no le gusta Brasil,” while also insisting that Rubio “no estaba” at the meeting Lula held with Trump.
The dispute also tied into the U.S. designation of Brazilian criminal gangs as terrorist organizations, with SANA citing Lula’s fury after the U.S. qualified two Brazilian narcotrafficking gangs as “organisations terroristes” and quoting him: « Ne jouez pas avec la souveraineté de ce pays. Ne jouez pas avec notre démocratie ».
Terror designations and stakes
Washington designated the Brazilian gangs Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) as “foreign terrorist organizations,” and the measure was set to take effect on June 5, with Rubio saying they “are among the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil”.
“The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Tuesday labeled the head of United States diplomacy, Marco Rubio, as a mortal enemy of several Latin American countries, after Washington threatened new tariffs on Brazilian products”
Lula denounced the move as an attack on sovereignty, saying at an official ceremony in the state of Sergipe: “Nous n’acceptons pas d’être traités comme des gamins, nous n’acceptons pas d’être traités comme si nous étions une république de pacotille”.
The U.S. action also intersects with the political contest ahead of the October presidential election, where Lula seeks a fourth term and his main rival is Flávio Bolsonaro, who had met Trump and Rubio in Washington.
RFI reported that the Brazilian government lamented the U.S. “unilateral measures” as “un pas en arrière” for the fight against crime and warned of “un risque à la vie humaine et un dommage économique,” while Business AM said the designation gives Washington “legal authority to deploy intelligence capabilities and sanctions worldwide” against the groups.
