The meeting between the president (PT) and , this Sunday (26), led left and right – especially the allies of () – to dispute narratives and the relationship with the president of .
Lula and Trump, in Malaysia, to discuss tariffs imposed on Brazilian products. The US president praised both the PT member and Bolsonaro, which led each spectrum to focus on their own benefit from the meeting — despite sectors of the right recognizing discomfort with Bolsonaroism and the current president’s political gains in the relationship with the American.
Before the meeting, Trump was questioned at a press conference about Bolsonaro. He said he felt bad about the situation of the former president, whom he always liked, but did not want to respond further on the subject. “It’s none of your business,” he told a journalist who asked if Bolsonaro would be one of the topics of conversation.
After the meeting, the US president released a photo next to Lula and wrote: “It is a great honor to be with the president of Brazil. I think we will be able to close good deals for both countries. We have always had a good relationship — and I think it will continue like that.”
Bolsonaristas echoed Trump’s praise for the former president and ignored the affection for Lula. The (PL-SP), which has been in the US since March articulating sanctions against Brazilian authorities, alleged one of the PT members with the American’s statement.
Other Bolsonarian influencers sought to spread the thesis that, despite the meeting, the Brazilian government has not yet made progress in negotiations to end the tariff.
“It must be the third meeting and the guys who attack Trump daily are pretending to be idiots to deceive other idiots”, wrote , councilor for the PL and also the son of the former president. In the post, he mocked a speech by Chancellor Mauro Vieira about the meeting having been positive, but without having started negotiations yet.
Political scientist Juliana Fratini, PhD from PUC-SP, assesses that Bolsonaro’s allies are hostage to the alliance with Trump and cannot criticize him for meeting Lula. They would even run the risk of greater fragility in international articulations, since part of the right itself admits that Lula profited from the progress of the negotiations.
Furthermore, both on the left and in sectors of the right there is an understanding that Eduardo’s performance in the USA allowed the president to position himself as a defender of national sovereignty, an asset exploited by PT’s allies.
“The Bolsonarists are dependent on Trumpism and international right-wing movements to keep their breath. They won’t complain, they don’t want friction. They know that if they irritate Trump, they could lose the prestige they have with him,” he told Sheet.
Eduardo’s allies already started, on Saturday night (25), a movement in his defense on social media, anticipating possible attacks in the face of a possible advance in negotiations for the tariff.
“Eduardo is a silent warrior, who works behind the scenes with loyalty and courage. His mission was never just a mandate, but the defense of an ideal. Unlike many who today work to belittle the great work he did, and continues to do for all of us”, stated federal deputy Mário Frias (PL-RJ).
The leader of the PL in the Chamber, Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), classified the meeting between Lula and Trump as “sensational, as it is proven that the tariff was never Eduardo Bolsonaro’s fault but Lula’s”.
On the left, the meeting was used to highlight Lula’s diplomatic performance. Federal deputy Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF) stated that the meeting “resulted in the reestablishment of dialogue and partnership between Brazil and the United States, overcoming previous differences orchestrated by traitors to the country.”
National president of the PT, Edinho Silva said that the planet’s problems will only be resolved “with more dialogue and not through impositions” and praised Lula’s stance. Critic of Trump, whom he calls a fascist, he believes that Brazil seeks to maintain a cordial relationship with the USA: “We are talking to the ruler of the time”, he argued.
For Fratini, the left’s stance regarding the meeting shows that “with an eye on the political and economic gains from a good relationship with Trump, the interest in a good relationship becomes stronger than disdain.”
The political scientist mentions inconsistency, on the part of the left, in celebrating Trump’s praise for Lula. “If the benefit were exclusive to the opponent, Bolsonaro, he would [Trump] would be called fascist,” he said. “The same happens when the Brazilian left allies itself with dictatorships like the Venezuelan or Cuban ones, without being even remotely dictatorial like these. It is done for economic interests and the regimentation of political powers.”
