ON SUNDAY, [September 6, 2026] Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended national sovereignty on the eve of Independence Day,[September 7] indirectly referring to the geopolitical pressures from U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a speech broadcast on radio and television, Lula maintained that no foreign country has the right to tell Brazil whom it can buy from and whom it can sell to, in an indirect criticism of trade measures adopted by Washington.
“We defend free trade. No foreign country has the right to tell us whom we can buy from and whom we can sell to.We are a sovereign country, and our decisions belong to us and no one else,” the Brazilian leader stated.
Previously, Trump decided that some Brazilian products would be subject to additional tariffs, raising the rate applied to their exports to as much as 37.5%. In that context, Lula said Brazil’s peaceful nature does not mean “bowing our heads to foreign powers”.
“We are not a colony and we will not be anyone’s colony,” he said, and defended the use of the country’s natural resources to promote its economic and social development.
Lula da Silva recalled that Brazil has the world’s second-largest reserve of rare earths, the planet’s largest source of fresh water, and a new oil reserve recently discovered off the Amazon coast.
For the progressive leader, a sovereign country must be capable of defending its territory, its borders, its environment, its wealth, and its population against foreign interests, but also of providing its citizens with the conditions to achieve their own “independence”.
Lula also defended Brazil’s peaceful character and said the country works for world peace, defends free trade, and promotes harmony among nations.
The Brazilian president, who is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term in elections in October, leads the voting-intention polls with 38% support, followed by far-right Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, his main rival, with 33%. (TeleSurEnglish)
