The price of irrational Bolsonarism: losses for businesses and unemployment for the people.

President Lula recently announced the Sovereign Brazil Plan, a set of measures to protect the country from the effects of the so-called "tariff hike" imposed by the United States. This involves an increase of up to 50% in tariffs on Brazilian products—a political retaliation orchestrated by federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro in collusion with US President Donald Trump to save former President Jair Bolsonaro from prison.

With responsibility and commitment, Lula is allocating R$ 30 billion to mitigate the impact of this attack on the Brazilian economy. This amount will be used to guarantee credit, preserve production chains, and, most importantly, maintain jobs that could be destroyed by the tariff hike. It is a strategic action to protect millions of families and prevent a collapse in essential sectors, such as industry and export-oriented agribusiness.

But it's impossible to ignore the origin of this crisis. This billion-dollar sum, correctly used by the Lula government, could have been invested in health, education, sanitation, or infrastructure projects. However, these billions of reais will be used to plug yet another hole left by the Bolsonaro family. Not content with the disastrous government that left more than 30 million Brazilians below the poverty line, and with the negligence regarding the pandemic, which led to the deaths of 700 people, now comes the irresponsible blackmail of Eduardo Bolsonaro, causing billions in losses to our businesses and the people.

Bolsonaro and his cronies are definitely not patriots. The tariff hike is not an economic accident—it's a direct consequence of this base, anti-national, irrational policy, implemented in an attempt to prevent the arrest of a clearly coup-plotting individual who attacked the nation and harmed the homeland.

The difference between the two visions for the country is evident. On one side, a coup that relinquishes national sovereignty to free a criminal from prison. On the other, a government that, even in the face of yet another cursed legacy, seeks solutions to protect jobs, industry, and agriculture. We must remember that, even amidst the crisis, the Lula government achieved two major achievements in recent days: the lowest unemployment rate in recorded history and the removal of Brazil from the hunger map.

In Rio Grande do Sul, we feel the weight of these decisions firsthand. Our industrial production, the footwear sector, agricultural machinery, the food industry, and family farming all depend on external markets. The Lula government is taking action, seeking new markets and ways to overcome this further damage caused by radical and irresponsible Bolsonaroism.

Lula is governing. Bolsonaro has shirked his responsibilities and is hiding behind accomplices. That's the difference between governing for the people or for a personal and family project, always with a coup-like tone. 

We must always remember: Brazil, above all, is sovereign.