"Revoking the visas of Supreme Court justices sets a bad example for the world," says Lula about the Trump administration.
President criticizes US measure, denounces tariff hike as provocation, and asserts that Brazil is now more democratic than the US.
247 - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described as “inexplicable” and a “bad example” the decision by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to revoke the visas of ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The statements were made this Wednesday (13) during the 4th National Conference on Popular and Solidarity Economy, promoted by the Planalto Palace. The information is from the newspaper Valor Econômico.
"They [the Americans] are revoking the visas of the Supreme Court justices [of Brazil]. The justices can no longer enter [the United States], this is not the behavior of a president of the world's largest economy, this is a bad example," Lula stated.
Criticism of the Trump administration's behavior
The president emphasized that, historically, the U.S. has sought to present itself as an example of opportunity and growth, but that Trump's attitude contradicts this narrative.
"For many decades, the US has tried to portray itself as the country that offers the best opportunities for growth, and now he [Trump] is behaving inexplicably and completely unacceptablely," he declared.
Lula mocked the US government by saying that Brazil is now more democratic than the United States itself.
“They said that the Supreme Court minister [of Brazil] is a dictator. It’s impossible that he doesn’t know this country. Brazil is much more democratic than the US. This leaves me bewildered by human behavior, it leaves me speechless. He is trying to destroy multilateralism,” he said.
Tariff hike as a provocation and an opportunity
The president also criticized the increase in tariffs imposed by the US on Brazilian products, which, according to him, exceeded the limits established by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"There is a limit to the taxation [that a country can apply against another]. The WTO speaks of 35%, he [Trump] applied 50%," Lula pointed out.
Describing the tariff hike as a "provocation," the president stated that the measure should serve as an incentive for Brazil to diversify its export markets and strengthen its domestic economy.
"The US tariff hike is a provocation to our intelligence and credit policy. It's a challenge for us to do what we haven't had the courage to do," he said.
Accusations against Eduardo Bolsonaro
Lula also accused federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) of having worked to convince the US government to impose sanctions on the Brazilian economy and judiciary.
“A citizen, the son of another citizen, went to the US to incite the American government to impose taxes on products that Brazil exports. Trump cannot behave the way he did with Brazil. We will not allow the scoundrels who governed the country to return,” he declared.
Also on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. will revoke visas and impose restrictions on Brazilian officials, citing the participation of Cuban professionals in the Mais Médicos program, created in 2013 by the government of President Dilma Rousseff.
