Lula tells Trump: ‘You don’t have the right to govern other countries’

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has criticised United States President Donald Trump’s approach to international relations, saying Washington should respect the sovereignty of other nations.

 

Lula made the remarks in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour ahead of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York.

 

The Brazilian president said Trump had the mandate to govern the United States but not to impose his decisions on other countries.

 

“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 also criticised tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Brazilian imports, rejecting Washington’s stated justification for the measures.

 

He said Brazil had responded by seeking to strengthen trade with other countries, while continuing negotiations with the United States.

 

Lula said he did not want a trade war with Washington and would consider retaliatory measures only if diplomatic efforts failed.

 

“I don’t want to go to a tariff war with the US and neither with any other country,” he said.

 

The Brazilian president also expressed concern about possible US interference in Brazil’s elections, although he acknowledged that there was no concrete evidence.

 

Lula said there were “some clues” involving interference and artificial intelligence, while also referring to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s relationship with the Bolsonaro family.

 

“But for the meanwhile, we just have suspicion. There’s nothing concrete,” he said.

 

Lula also criticised Washington’s role in Venezuela, saying the US approach had created the impression that it was exercising control over the South American country.

 

“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.”

 

He said Venezuelans should be allowed to determine their political future through elections.

 

“If I was Delcy, 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,” he said.

 

Lula’s comments come amid continuing tensions between Brazil and the United States over trade, sovereignty and Washington’s policies in the Western Hemisphere.