President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) said on Sunday that, “if it depends” on him, the far right will not return to power in Brazil. In a speech during the PSB Congress that officialized the name of the mayor of Recife, João Campos, as national president of the party, Lula criticized the interference of the United States in Brazilian affairs, defended Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Court (STF), and made an appeal by a ruling majority in the 2026 elections.
“The US want to sue Alexandre de Moraes because he wants to arrest a Brazilian guy who is there in the US doing something against Brazil all day. Why does he want to criticize Brazilian justice? I never criticized their justice. He does so much barbarity and I never criticized.
Last week, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions against foreign authorities that are “an accomplices of censorship to Americans.” He did not mention who will be affected, but Moraes may be one of the targets of the measure. Rubio had already told the US Congress that there is a “great chance” of the US government sanctioning the STF minister.
Subsequently, President Lula raised his tone by dealing with the 2026 electoral scenario. He defended the need to elect government -aligned senators to ensure governance and avoid attacks on institutions, including signaling that the election to the Senate may be more important than state governments.
“We need to elect Senators of the Republic in 2026. Why, if these guys elect most senators, they will make a muvuca in this country. We need to earn a majority in the Senate, otherwise these guys will be ahead of the Supreme Court. It’s not because the Supreme Court is a sweet apple. It’s because we need to preserve the institutions of that country,” he said.
During the speech, Lula also criticized former US President Donald Trump and defended the strengthening of multilateral institutions as a way of preserving the sovereignty of countries.
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“Trump is wanting to end multilateralism and create unilateralism. Collective bargaining is important, reinforcing the WTO, the UN, for us to defend in the world. We can not return to the negotiation of the Cold War, we no longer want cold war, we want free trade and sovereignty of each country. No one gets into the things of Brazil and we do not get into the things of others.
Lula also said he was confident in his political performance:
“You can be sure that if I have a handsome way I am, in love the way I am, and motivated the way I am, the far right does not go back to rule this country.”
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The PSB event took place in Brasilia and was attended by ministers, parliamentarians of the base and mayor, Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB). The meeting was marked by discourses in defense of democracy and the union between the governing parties for this year’s municipal election and the general elections of 2026.
