Ambassador Samuel Pinheiro Guimarães: Lula is a political prisoner of the Empire.

TV 247 - Ambassador and former Secretary-General of Itamaraty (Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Samuel Pinheiro Guimarães, condemns in an interview with TV 247 the interference by the United States and reinforces that the imprisonment of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is arbitrary. "Lula is a political prisoner of the Empire," he declares.

Citing the elections in Venezuela, the ambassador draws a comparison to the embargoes suffered by Cuba for decades. “The Cubans carried out a revolution and the US isolated the country from Latin America, applying sanctions to overthrow the regime. What is happening with Venezuela is the same thing; the US used the Lima Group and the G7 to not recognize the Venezuelan electoral process. The Americans always wear masks to disguise their actions around the world,” he denounces.

He condemns the role of the mainstream media in collusion with the coup. "In Venezuela, attempts to discredit the government are recurrent, so much so that the mainstream press labels Nicolás Maduro as a dictator. The idea is to further strangle Venezuela with sanctions," he states.

Guimarães provides a historical overview when explaining the coup d'état that occurred in 2016. “The Americans achieved a victory over the Soviet Union and in the Gulf War. Reflecting this rise, several neoliberal regimes emerged in Latin America, implementing policies of the Washington Consensus, and subsequently, all of these governments failed, as was the case with former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso,” he recalls.  

“With the collapse of the neoliberal project, progressive movements won elections democratically in Latin America, implementing social inclusion programs, in addition to a reasonably independent foreign policy. Then, some decisions by the Lula government began to bother the Americans, such as the defeat of the FTAA, as well as Brazil's non-participation in the Iraq War,” the ambassador explains. 

Samuel Pinheiro Guimarães recounts a counter-offensive from the embryo that culminated in the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. "Such sovereignty measures began to bother the US, and immediately the Americans launched the Millenium Institute, uniting businessmen and the hegemonic press with imperialist interests, thus orchestrating her overthrow," he points out.  

The former Secretary of Foreign Affairs continues the narrative of the coup. “The first victim was former minister José Dirceu (PT), who was Lula's natural successor, acting through legal maneuvers. And, after overthrowing the president, this collusion is present today through Michel Temer's policies,” Guimarães condemns.  

In criticizing Temer's measures, Guimarães points to two pillars that are harmful to the country. "Former Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles (MDB) is a representative of Wall Street. Pedro Parente, president of Petrobras, is a spokesperson for the US government. After all, the great interest of the Americans is to dominate the pre-salt reserves," he explains.

Judiciary: Arm of the coup

“The judiciary is a parallel line that works against Lula's possibility of becoming president,” the ambassador condemns, citing the arbitrary actions committed by the justice system. “It reaches the point of absurdity where they use the presumption of guilt, no longer the presumption of innocence,” he asserts.

Guimarães emphasizes that Lula is a political prisoner of the empire and laments the attacks the former president has been suffering. “They are trying to demoralize him in every way, in addition to the persecution of the Workers' Party. Sérgio Moro, a first-instance judge, with the support of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), has kidnapped the Brazilian people, but I still believe in a counter-reaction from the STF,” he says. 

The ambassador concludes the interview by saying that the more they attack Lula, the higher the former president rises in the polls. "This is demoralizing for the mainstream media; imprisonment strengthens him, he continues fighting even from behind bars," Guimarães states.  

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