Lula to Trump at the UN General Assembly: ‘Brazil does not fit in anyone’s backyard’

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the first head of state to speak on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly, positioned himself as the leading spokesman for those who defend what Donald Trump’s America and other powers have been systematically attacking.

Lula, of the leftist Workers Party (PT), praised the post–World War II architecture that was designed to resolve conflicts and prevent wars. The Brazilian leader criticized the attacks on the UN over its alleged lack of credibility and effectiveness, and called for a return to multilateralism. “We are all held hostage by the inaction of the Security Council failing to fulfil its role,” he said.

“This is the 10th time I have opened the general debate of this Assembly since I first took up to this podium in 2003. This is undoubtedly the most critical moment for the United Nations. The feeling that drives me today is one of indignation,” he told his counterparts from around the world, speaking with the perspective that comes with long experience.

In a speech that stuck close to current events, the Brazilian leader denounced the “the genocide of women and children perpetrated by Netanyahu’s government in Gaza.” Closer to home, he rejected U.S. interference south of the Rio Grande at a time when Brazil is standing on the eve of crucial elections and there are fears that Washington could again meddle in foreign affairs. “Brazil does not fit in anyone’s backyard.We need partners with a positive agenda that fosters development. Ideological differences should not hinder higher integration amongst neighbors,” he said. The Brazilian leader also referenced Venezuela, noting that “neocolonial incursions for strategic resources are anachronistic gestures. The Venezuelan people deserve to define their own destiny.”

Lula traveled to the UN two weeks before Brazil’s general election in which he is seeking re-election, with his country locked in a tariff war with the United States and under the threat of new U.S. sanctions that could influence the campaign and the outcome. The Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) has raised the risk of U.S. interference in the October 4 vote to a “critical level.”

The Brazilian president and Trump, whom Lula did not mention once in his speech, crossed paths in the UN corridors a year ago, giving them a chance to meet in person. That encounter paved the way to mend one of the worst crises in bilateral relations, sparked by pressure to prevent Flavio Bolsonaro’s father, Jair, from being prosecuted, and to build a personal relationship between the two leaders that resulted in two official meetings, the most recent in May at the White House.

But that did not stop the U.S. from showing its power with a second round of tariffs against Brazil.

Lula was the first head of state to address the General Assembly as part of a traditional practice, established in 1955, that Brazil—a populous country that was non-aligned during the Cold War—opens the annual session. For this year, Lula wore his lucky tie in his country’s colors. His wife, Janja da Silva, accompanied him to the UN wearing again a jacket made with traditional Palestinian embroidery.

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