President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) raised his tone against the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, when commenting on the new American trade investigation that could result in 25% tariffs on Brazilian products.
In a speech this Tuesday (2), the PT member stated that the Donald Trump government’s main diplomat maintains hostile positions in relation to Brazil and Latin America.
The statement was made during an event in Catalão (GO), amid the repercussion of the report released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which highlighted a series of Brazilian practices allegedly harmful to American trade and recommended new trade sanctions.
“It’s been a while since I went to the US, this guy Marco Rubio is anti-Latin America. I already told Trump that he doesn’t like Brazil. He wasn’t at the meeting,” said Lula.
The criticisms occur at a time of Rubio’s growing protagonism in the relationship between Washington and Brasília. In recent days, the Secretary of State has been at the center of episodes that have increased friction between the two countries, from the rapprochement with allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro to the classification of Brazilian criminal factions as terrorist organizations.
Brazil off the list of allies
Hours before Lula’s speech, Rubio had mentioned Brazil in an unusual way during a hearing in the American Congress.
Continues after advertising
When defending the Trump administration’s foreign policy, the secretary stated that the United States is experiencing a moment of rapprochement with several Latin American countries. When listing the governments considered most aligned with Washington, however, he left Brazil out of the group.
“It is fantastic that, apart from Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and, of course, Brazil, although it is in the middle of an electoral cycle, and, to some extent, Colombia, we have a region full of allies and friends of the United States,” he declared.
The mention drew attention because it occurred precisely when the two countries face one of the biggest trade disputes in recent years.
Last week, the Secretary of State received senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) in the United States. The meeting took place a few days before the release of the trade report against Brazil.
According to Flávio, one of the topics discussed was the possibility of Washington classifying the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Comando Vermelho (CV) as terrorist organizations.
Two days after the meeting, the State Department officially announced the measure.
Continues after advertising
In a statement released at the time, Rubio stated that the two factions are among the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil and represent a threat beyond the country’s borders.
