Brazil's Lula warns Trump not to interfere in presidential election

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on June 17 warned the United States against interfering in the country's upcoming presidential election, scheduled for October. The remarks came after both Lula and U.S. President Donald Trump attended the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France.

At a news conference, Lula said Trump has the right to maintain ties with the Bolsonaro family — the clan of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2023. "In my view, he can continue to support Bolsonaro — father, son, grandson. No problem. That's his business. People have different tastes," Lula said.

However, the Brazilian leader drew a red line: no interference in Brazil's election. "Do not interfere in Brazil's election, because Brazil's election is Brazil's business, just as the U.S. election is their business, not mine. All I want is respect for Brazil, just as I respect the U.S.," Lula stressed.

Lula is currently the leading candidate for the October race. If victorious, it would be his fourth term as president. He previously served from 2003 to 2011 before winning a third, non-consecutive term in 2022. His main opponent is Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, representing the far-right Liberal Party.

Since returning to the White House for a second term, Trump has been accused of seeking to influence Latin American elections in favor of right-wing candidates. In Argentina, he threatened to cut economic support before last year's legislative election, and in Honduras, he warned he could suspend aid if his preferred candidate did not win.

In Brazil, Trump's actions have raised questions about whether they constitute illegal interference in the country's judicial system. Trump has openly backed the Bolsonaro family. Last year, after Jair Bolsonaro was indicted for attempting to overturn his 2022 election loss, Trump sent a public letter calling the trial a "witch hunt."

Trump also imposed tariffs on some Brazilian goods and sanctioned members of the country's judiciary, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Still, last September, Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup.

At the G7 summit, when asked about the sentence handed to Jair's third son, Eduardo Bolsonaro — who received four years for lobbying for U.S. interference in Brazil's judicial system — Trump confused Eduardo with his brother Flavio. He also claimed Brazil had become "dangerous" and "brutal" politically toward right-wing views, and compared the U.S. and Brazilian electoral systems, calling U.S. elections "totally rigged."

In response, Lula dismissed concerns about Brazil's electronic voting machines, calling paper ballots a "19th-century technology" and offering to show Trump — who criticizes electronic vote counting — how the machines work. He also questioned the U.S. president's knowledge of Brazil: "I don't think he knows Brazil well. If he only knows Brazil through his relationship with the Bolsonaro family, then he doesn't really know Brazil."