Lula Accuses Trump of Seeking to ‘Colonise’ Brazil Through Election Meddling

 Lula Accuses Trump of Seeking to ‘Colonise’ Brazil Through Election Meddling

Lula vs. Trump: Brazil's Election Turns Into a Showdown With Washington

Brazil's presidential race just got a lot more dramatic — and this time, the drama isn't only between Brazilian candidates. It's between Brazil and the United States.

What happened?

On Thursday, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's campaign released a minute-long TV ad with a bold accusation: that Donald Trump wants to "colonise" Brazil, grab its natural resources, and tip the upcoming election in favor of Lula's far-right rival, Flávio Bolsonaro — son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

In the ad, a narrator tells viewers, "Flávio Bolsonaro is Trump's candidate and what Trump wants is to colonise Brazil, take our riches, steal our future and leave us in the dust." ssbcrack

Lula doubled down on X (formerly Twitter), accusing Bolsonaro of wanting to hand the country's wealth over to the United States, warning that Brazil would become "a colony again" if Bolsonaro wins — before adding that Brazil has only one owner: the Brazilian people. lbc

Why now?

This isn't coming out of nowhere. Lula and Bolsonaro are running neck and neck in the polls ahead of the first round of voting on October 4. If neither candidate crosses 50%, the race heads to a run-off on October 25 — meaning every accusation right now is aimed squarely at swaying undecided voters. lbc

There's also a bigger backdrop here. Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Brazilian goods, citing the ongoing trial against former president Jair Bolsonaro, and the US has shown strong interest in Brazil's rare earth deposits. Add in Trump's more aggressive moves elsewhere in Latin America — boat strikes in the Caribbean, a naval blockade on Venezuelan oil, and involvement in elections in Honduras and Argentina — and it's easy to see why Lula's camp is painting this as part of a bigger pattern rather than a one-off dispute. Al JazeeraAl Jazeera

What's Washington saying?

Not surprisingly, the US isn't taking the "colonise" label lying down. A State Department spokesperson has called the interference claims a "baseless lie." lbc

Interestingly, concern isn't limited to Lula's side of the aisle. Renan Santos, another right-wing presidential candidate, criticized Trump's actions too, saying he doesn't want Brazil to become a US vassal state, and invoked the earlier US action in Venezuela as a warning about Latin America becoming an "American protectorate." inkl

Meanwhile, the pressure campaign has drawn attention in the US as well — dozens of Democratic members of Congress, along with Senator Bernie Sanders, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising concerns about apparent efforts to interfere with Brazil's elections. lbc

The bottom line

With voting just over a week away and the race a genuine toss-up, expect the rhetoric to keep heating up. Whether you see this as legitimate concern over foreign meddling or as savvy campaign messaging (or both), one thing's clear: Brazil's election has turned into a proxy battle over the country's sovereignty, its resources, and its place on the world stage.