"Trump's bullying against Brazil is backfiring," says the Washington Post.
US newspaper points out that Trump's attacks on Brazil strengthen Lula and damage American credibility.
247 - In an analysis published this week, columnist Ishaan Tharoor, from the newspaper The Washington PostTharoor assessed that the recent commercial and diplomatic offensive by US President Donald Trump against Brazil is having the opposite effect to that desired. "Trump's bullying against Brazil is backfiring," summarizes Tharoor, describing the 50% tariffs imposed on Brazilian products and the escalation of tensions with the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). This information comes from [source missing]. g1.
According to the American newspaper, although the Trump administration's objective is to pressure Brazil to protect former president Jair Bolsonaro and retaliate against the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the actions ended up politically strengthening Lula. "Santa Claus came early for President Lula, and the gift was sent by Trump through this clumsy attack on Brazil's sovereignty, in order to protect an aspiring dictator and a clear loser," a Brazilian diplomat told the newspaper.
The article highlights that, contrary to what Trump claims, the United States maintains a significant trade surplus with Brazil. Even so, Washington announced last Friday (18) the suspension of entry visas to the US for STF minister Alexandre de Moraes, other members of the Court and Attorney General Paulo Gonet, as retaliation for judicial decisions involving Bolsonaro.
According to the Washington Post, this stance represents a direct attack on Brazilian democracy and international legal principles. "It's difficult to conceive of an action the Trump administration could take in the US-Brazil relationship that would be more damaging to US credibility in promoting democracy than sanctioning a Supreme Court justice from a foreign country because we don't like his judicial opinions," a State Department official told Tharoor.
According to the article, the intimidation attempt ended up politically benefiting the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The columnist points out that "polls show renewed support for his government in the face of American intimidation provoked by Bolsonaro," and that Lula "saw an opportunity in the crisis."
The Washington Post also notes that the tariffs harm the interests of business sectors traditionally more aligned with the opposition. "The tariffs also harm the interests of business elites, who are often the biggest drivers of conservative opposition to Lula," the text emphasizes.
