Trump Is Openly Meddling in Brazil’s Upcoming Presidential Election
The Brazilian President’s recent visit to the White House signals that major disagreements persist between the two countries
Legacy news media outlets in the United States are right to suggest that major disagreements exist between Brazilian President Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump after a recent meeting at the White House. Despite the praise heaped on each other by both presidents, the absence of a joint statement is telling. Trump has made it abundantly clear that he is opposed to da Silva’s presidency, trade policies, and his methods of addressing crime. Likewise, da Silva is opposed to many of Trump’s policies, such as the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro, the war in Iran, and Trump’s threats against Cuba.
Trump is particularly bothered by Brazil’s prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup that mimicked the January 6, 2021, attempted insurrection in the United States. Trump has not only criticised Bolsonaro’s prosecution but also imposed trade sanctions on the country and sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court judges after they ruled that Bolsonaro must stand trial.
Since Trump took office for his second term, he has taken a hardline stance against da Silva and has vocally backed Jair Bolsonaro’s son, Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign. After Trump calling the prosecution of Jair and any criticism of Flávio a “witch hunt” many times, Brazilian authorities recently blocked U.S. envoy Darren Beattie from visiting the former president in prison and meeting with Flávio, calling it “undue interference” in an election year.
Trump’s public declarations are just as telling as what is happening behind the scenes. In just the first few months of his second term, it had become apparent that his meddling in Brazil’s elections was just beginning and was being discussed in Brazilian media as early as mid-2025. In addition to accusing da Silva of “treating Bolsonaro unfairly,” Trump also declared that da Silva’s government was an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S., without providing any proof or context to make such a suggestion of one of the U.S.’s largest partners.
Behind the scenes, it gets darker. Like in other Latin American countries during Trump’s second term, the White House is targeting remittances by launching a trade investigation into Brazilian practices, specifically its Pix payment system. The system has become popular for making payments instead of using cash or debit cards. The payment system, launched by the Central Bank of Brazil in 2020, is used by more than 150 million Brazilians. The investigations may destabilize Lula’s economic standing and provide a pretext for Bolsonaro ahead of the election.
Further, the recently leaked Hondurasgate recordings expose the coordination of a transnational disinformation campaign designed to weaken the progressive governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. The recordings implicate former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, Argentine President Javier Milei, U.S. President Donald Trump, current Honduran President Nasry Asfura and Vice President María Antonieta Mejía, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, and various Israeli interests in this effort, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The plot involves establishing a digital media network in Washington, D.C., with help from Hernández’s Republican friends, aimed at destabilizing the region by interfering in elections that install far-right leaders willing to bow to Trump’s political wants. Noboa is already exploiting his relationship with Trump by using “counternarcotics operation” pretexts to target his opponents and partnering with the U.S. to do it violently. Brazil is in the early stages of Trump’s meddling and is expected to be forced to endure outside interference in its political future.
Moving forward, employing similar strategies out of the current White House’s playbook, Trump is likely to declare some gangs as terrorist organizations and paint da Silva as supporting them, ultimately endorsing Flávio Bolsonaro. That endorsement will likely come with similar threats to those made against several countries in 2025 when Trump threatened to cut countries off if they didn’t vote as he wanted them to. That meddling resulted in several far-right candidates winning presidential elections in Honduras and Chile and legislative elections in Argentina.
Arturo is an independent freelance journalist. He has written hundreds of articles on policing, immigration, race, and Latin America. His work has been featured in outlets such as Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Of course he thinks Bolsonaro is treated unfairly. He fears it may foreshadow his own fate. That the man identifies with autocrats and would-be autocrats says everything you need to know.
I know there are international standards of ethics that are agreed to by many nations. I am wondering if this includes interfering in another country's elections. The Trump regime has turned the tables by denying that this happens all the time and that the well documented Russian (and other countries) interference in the U.S. elections was a hoax. I feel rather ignorant here, but election interference should be recognized internationally as being unfair and malignant. Is it?