MARIANNA HOLANDA AND RENATO MACHADO
President Lula (PT) minimized this Friday (8) Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) support for the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, claiming that the Brazilian does not have votes in that country and did not influence the result.
He also resumed criticism of businessman Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), a supporter of Trump and who is expected to join the Republican’s government. “Look, the only thing we want is for this businessman to treat countries with respect and not use fake news to inform the people, be it the American people or the Brazilian people.”
The statements were made in an interview with CNN Internacional. A first excerpt was released by the broadcaster. The full text aired this Friday.
Musk made million-dollar donations to the Republican campaign, was remembered in a victory speech and has already received an invitation to take over the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. In Brazil, the owner of X is an ally of Bolsonarism.
“Bolsonaro was president and I defeated him. If he was supporting Trump, he doesn’t have votes in the United States, Trump wouldn’t have won the elections,” he said.
“I think each candidate establishes a strategy to win the elections. And I want to say clearly to the American people: I will have a respectful relationship with President Trump as head of the Brazilian State. I hope he has a respectful relationship with Brazil as head of the American State. Now, if we establish this line of behavior, of civility, of respect, everything else becomes much easier”, he added.
The answer was given when asked whether the Republican’s victory could be good for Lula or help the former president return to power. The presenter also called Bolsonaro the “Trump of the tropics”, and Lula smiled.
The PT member supported Democrat Kamala Harris, who was defeated. He defended a relationship of respect and civility with Trump. “Two heads of state, although they may have political and ideological differences, when they meet, what prevails is the interest of the State, not personal interest,” he said.
The journalist mentioned that many countries are being governed by elderly people, such as the United States and Brazil, and questioned whether the president will be a candidate and whether it is time for a “younger generation to enter the scene”.
He refutes the view that he may be too old to run for a fourth term, stating that he maintains good health and physical condition. And he indicated that the main thing is to have competence and not to be young.
“Governing is not playing football, governing is not playing sports. In other words, it is not the problem of youth that will solve the problem of governance. What will solve the problem of governance is the competence of the ruler, the commitment of the ruler, the head of the ruler, the health and commitments of the ruler”, he stated.
Lula also repeated his routine statement that he intends to live to 120 years old and that he takes care of his physical health and exercises. He then said that he is not a candidate for re-election and that the 2026 election will only be discussed in two years.
Lula’s speeches about the United States electoral result were the third time he has publicly addressed the topic. Hours after confirmation, the Brazilian president used his social networks to congratulate the American.
“My congratulations to President Donald Trump on his electoral victory and return to the US presidency. Democracy is the voice of the people and it must always be respected. The world needs dialogue and joint work to have more peace, development and prosperity. I wish the new government luck and success,” he wrote.
Hours later, he said he expected a “civilized” relationship with the American, just as he had with other US presidents in their first two terms.
“Look, I’m not going to think about the worst that could happen with the election of a president from another country. I don’t know Trump personally. I know him from hearing, from reading articles about him, from seeing him on television. But I hope that the coexistence will be the civilized coexistence that I already had with the [George W] Bush, who is from the Republican Party, which I already had with the [Barack] Obama, which I already had with [Joe] Biden,” he stated.
Lula also said that he respects people who are democratically elected. Before winning the election, Trump had said that he would accept the result if the “election was fair”.
“He was elected president of the United States. Point. So I respect the fact that he was elected by the American people. I hope he cares about working so that the world has peace. I hope he works to improve the lives of the American people, which is why he was a candidate,” said Lula.
Trump was declared president-elect of the United States at around 7:30 am this Wednesday (6), when he reached the mark of 276 of the 538 Electoral College votes. In addition to the victory in the electoral college, the new president is also strengthened at the polls for having won the popular vote.
Until this Wednesday afternoon (6), with the results confirmed in almost all states, he had registered 51% of the popular votes, against 47.6% for Kamala Harris.
Trump will still govern with a majority in both houses of the US Congress.
