(Reuters)-The Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, said on Saturday that he regrets that Brazilians work “against the interest of the country” when asked about the meeting of Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) with United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“(I want) to regret that bad Brazilians work against the interest of the country and, by the way, unfairly,” Alckmin told journalists.
The parliamentarian said on Friday in a publication on X that he had participated in an “excellent” meeting with Bessent on August 13, days after Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said a conversation with the US Secretary scheduled for the same day had been unmarked.
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Haddad attributed Washington’s decision to uncheck the meeting with Bessent as a result of an articulation by Eduardo Bolsonaro, which the deputy denied during the week.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government has sought to open dialogue channels to negotiate the 50% tariff imposed by the US on various Brazilian products, but has not been successful so far.
Alckmin reaffirmed on Saturday that “there is no justification” for the taxation implemented by President Donald Trump, who justified the measure, among other points, to the “witch hunt” that former President Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo’s father, would be suffering.
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“Our job is to continue dialogue and continue negotiation,” added Alckmin. Asked if there were any meeting with US authorities, he said, “Wait.”
The former president, who is a defendant in trial in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for attempted coup d’état, is still under house arrest after the determination of Minister Alexandre de Moraes in the wake of breach of precautionary measures imposed by the Court.
(Report by Rodrigo Viga Gaier)
