Lula, Trump expected to meet virtually

The announcement of a Lula-Trump meeting had been eagerly awaited by Brazilian and American business leaders, as well as by Brazil’s diplomatic corps. Among Brazilian diplomats, the view is that the Lula administration could have greater opportunities to negotiate tariff reductions if it puts forward proposals that Mr. Trump could tout as victories. These could include future partnerships involving U.S. research and investment in Brazil’s critical minerals sector or regulations not too restrictive for big tech companies and their social media platforms operating in Brazil. The real strengthened against the dollar while Brazilian markets rallied on Tuesday upon news of the overture.

“I was walking in and the leader of Brazil was walking out. I saw him and he saw me and we embraced,” Mr. Trump said. “But we actually agreed that we would meet next week. We didn’t have much time to talk, about 20 seconds.” He added that Lula seemed like a “very nice man.”

According to Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, the meeting will likely be virtual. “It could also happen by phone call or videoconference, because unfortunately the president is very busy, with a full agenda, so perhaps an in-person meeting will not be possible, but they will meet in some way,” he said.

Even so, in his speech at the UN, Mr. Trump once again leveled indirect criticism at Brazil, particularly its judiciary. He said the country was marked by “censorship, repression, weaponization, judicial corruption and targeting of political critics,” in reference to the convictions of former President Jair Bolsonaro and close allies over the January 8, 2023 coup attempt.

“Brazil now faces heavy tariffs in response to its unprecedented efforts to interfere with the rights and freedoms of our American citizens and others, with censorship, repression, weaponization, judicial corruption, and targeting of political critics in the United States,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s friendly remarks toward Mr. Lula caught presidential aides in Brasília off guard. Despite the praise and the prospect of a potential meeting next week, Valor learned that such an outcome had been considered “unlikely” by government insiders prior to the trip. In recent weeks, Mr. Lula’s advisers had even sought to lower expectations that the event in New York could provide any exchange between the two presidents.

Veteran Brazilian diplomats familiar with the UN Assembly noted that outgoing speakers usually exit the stage from the opposite side of where the next head of state enters, a protocol designed to avoid encounters—even though it was known Mr. Trump would speak immediately after Mr. Lula.

Mr. Lula’s aides had also privately suggested that Mr. Trump’s tight security arrangements could pose another obstacle to any personal exchange with the Brazilian president at the multilateral venue.

The brief conversation between Mr. Lula and Mr. Trump in the UN corridors was positive and spontaneous, said Amanda Robertson, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, according to GloboNews. Ms. Robertson confirmed the two hugged. “It really was a spontaneous moment. It seems the backstage meeting was unplanned. President Lula was leaving and Trump was entering, and in that hallway they had a few moments to speak. It was a short, spontaneous, and good conversation.”

According to Ms. Robertson, Mr. Trump said he liked Mr. Lula but also told the Brazilian president that razil “is doing harm and will continue to do harm.”

*By Renan Truffi, Sofia Aguiar, Rafael Vazquez and Marcos de Moura and Souza — Brasília and New York

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/