Controversial speeches by the president (PT) and the senator (-RJ) about drug trafficking armed their opponents in a strategic week in Brazil’s relationship with , with developments for the 2026 elections.
The two main bottlenecks of PTism and Bolsonarism became targets: public security and sovereignty.
Lula stated this Friday (24) that, when criticizing Trump’s US attacks on vessels in international waters in Latin America. The statement was exploited by the opposition, for whom it was a message to “protect criminals”.
Flávio suggested on Thursday (23) that those carrying drugs in Rio de Janeiro. The position was criticized within the government base, treated as an incentive for Trump’s offensive against Brazilian sovereignty, similar to the actions of his brother (PL-SP) in the USA.
The two speeches dealt with public security, which is already one of the main themes of the election next year and led the government and the opposition to compete in Congress for leadership in projects on the subject.
This week, Lula categorically stated that he will be a candidate for re-election, while the (Supreme Federal Court) opened the count of days for a closed prison (PL),
Lula’s statement was quickly exploited by Bolsonarists, who often seek to associate the left and, above all, the president, with benevolent conduct against organized crime and drug trafficking.
“It wasn’t a gaffe, it’s the essence of the left,” said PL leader, Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ). “For him, the criminal is the victim and the law-abiding citizen is the culprit. Perhaps in the mind of the convict, the trafficker is the new ‘oppressed worker’. The country needs justice, not the romanticization of trafficking,” he stated.
The senator and president of , (PI), was in the same vein: “Traffickers are victims of users, robbers are victims of those robbed, murderers are victims of those killed, rapists are victims of those who are raped, and so on.”
Deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) simply quipped: “At the rate it’s going, soon the PCC [Primeiro Comando da Capital, organização criminosa] becomes an NGO”.
On a trip to Asia, Lula said: “Every time we talk about fighting drugs, it would probably be easier for us to fight our addicts internally. Users are responsible for drug dealers who are victims of users too. You have an exchange of people who sell because there are people who buy, and people who buy because there are people who sell.”
on Sunday (26), in Malaysia, after a visit to Indonesia. He also indicated that he intends to talk about military actions with the American president.
Over the past two months, the United States has carried out attacks on vessels off the coast of Latin America, in one of the country’s most aggressive offensives in the region in recent decades. The most recent this week occurred in the Pacific Ocean and was shared in a publication by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
He said, without evidence, that there were two drug traffickers on board. “Both terrorists were killed, and no American forces were injured in this attack.”
The publication was replicated by Flávio Bolsonaro with a comment in English, suggesting that boats carrying drugs in Rio de Janeiro should be attacked.
“. I heard that there are boats like this here in Rio de Janeiro, in Guanabara Bay, flooding Brazil with drugs. Wouldn’t you like to spend a few months here helping us fight these terrorist organizations?”, he wrote.
The speech was widely explored by the left as an attack on sovereignty and an alignment of the senator with Eduardo Bolsonaro, who is in the United States and was accused by the PGR (Attorney General of the Republic) of articulating actions with the American government with the aim of intervening in the processes against the former president in Brazil.
Flávio later recorded a video saying that there is ill will against him, with the idea that he had defended attacks on ships in Guanabara Bay.
The PSOL leader in the Chamber, Talíria Petrone (RJ), asked the population of Rio de Janeiro to remember the senator’s speech in the 2026 election. “Keep this information because next year he will be a candidate for the state that today he asks to be the target of bombs”, she said.
Other parliamentarians explored the declaration as a betrayal of Brazil.
“The Bolsonaro family seems to have a genetic disposition towards betrayal of the country and subservience to the USA. Licking imperialism”, said deputy Ivan Valente (PSOL-SP).
“It’s surreal and shameful, but Flávio Bolsonaro — amazingly, considered the ‘balanced’ one of the brothers — made a post suggesting that the US government attack vessels on the Brazilian coast, which would be an act of war. He and Bananinha form the duo Judas and Silvério dos Reis”, said deputy Orlando Silva (PC of B-SP).
