Lula Accuses U.S. of Orchestrating Coup in Brazil

(MENAFN) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has sharply accused the United States of “helped stage a coup” in Brazil, denouncing Washington’s efforts to wield political pressure as a means to impose economic sanctions on his country.

Speaking at a Workers’ Party rally in Brasília on Sunday, Lula declared that Brazil will not tolerate unequal treatment and is prepared to defend its national interests firmly on the global stage.

“Trying to use a political issue to economically sanction us is unacceptable,” Lula stated, referencing recent US threats to slap a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports. “I won’t forget that they have already helped stage a coup here,” he added, without specifying whether he meant the 1964 Operation Brother Sam, the 2016 impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff, or the recent efforts by ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to overturn the 2022 election results.

US President Donald Trump has tied the tariff threat to what he described as a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup to remain in power. Washington has also placed sanctions on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading an investigation into the alleged plot.

Lula emphasized that Brazil’s economy no longer relies on the United States, pointing to broadened global trade partnerships and strengthened domestic foundations. He reiterated his administration’s push to reduce dependence on the US dollar in international transactions.

“They want to end multilateralism… They want to go back to country-to-country deals where the big dominate the small,” Lula said. “In other words, a small country negotiating with the United States is like a factory worker with 80,000 coworkers negotiating alone with the boss. The agreement is lopsided; you won’t gain anything.”

“We have size, we have posture, we have strategic and economic interests… We want to negotiate, but we want to negotiate on equal terms,” he asserted.

If enacted, the proposed 50% tariff would represent the highest US import duty levied against any country. Trump has also threatened an additional 10% tariff on BRICS members, accusing the bloc of attempting to “destroy the dollar as the global standard.”

Brazil, a founding member of BRICS alongside Russia, India, and China since 2006, is part of a group that has grown to include South Africa, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia. BRICS leaders have repeatedly maintained they do not intend to weaken the US dollar, arguing instead that Washington itself destabilizes it through political misuse.

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