Brazil’s president goes to the UN meeting to talk with Trump: “Do not interfere in Brazil’s elections”

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced that he will ask Donald Trump not to interfere in Brazil’s presidential election during his participation in the UN General Assembly in New York. The statement comes ahead of the October election, in which Lula is running for another term against Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of the American leader.

“I am going to the UN meeting to have a conversation with Trump and tell him: do not interfere in Brazil’s election,” Lula said during a campaign event held in Ceilandia, a working-class district of Brasilia.

For now, no bilateral meeting between the two presidents has been scheduled, according to Brazilian official Carlos Bicalho Cozendey. However, they are expected to cross paths at the General Assembly, where their speeches could take place one after the other, as happened in 2025.

Tensions between Brasilia and Washington escalated after the United States imposed two rounds of additional tariffs on Brazilian products in July. Lula denounced the measures as an attempt to interfere in Brazil’s election.

The conflict dates back to 2025, when the Trump administration raised tariffs on Brazil amid the legal proceedings against Jair Bolsonaro over an alleged attempted coup. Polls point to a potentially close runoff between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro.