Brazil: Lula’s Victory Despite US Meddling is Awesome
In one of the most welcome news in recent times for democracy, Lula da Silva has achieved a great democratic victory in a keenly contested run off against Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, now serving 27 year jail term for coup attempt earlier against the incumbent president.
In one of the most welcome news in recent times for democracy, Lula da Silva has achieved a great democratic victory in a keenly contested run off against Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, now serving 27 year jail term for coup attempt earlier against the incumbent president. The results of this election were eagerly awaited not only in Brazil but all over the world. For, this election was also being seen globally in terms of imperialism’s interference vs. autonomous choice due to the persistent hostility of the USA now and in the past against President Lula.
Despite the involvement of Jair Bolsonaro in coup plot after losing earlier election, the USA had continued to support his family members and close associates in Brazil politics. Some of these close associates pleaded in the USA for punishing steps against their own country, allowing their hostility towards President Lula’s leadership to even overwhelm their concern for the country’s essential interests. Subsequently when US President Trump arbitrarily increased tariffs in a very big for Brazil’s exports to the USA, these persons openly expressed their happiness.
Subsequently in the election, open as well as covert US support for Bolsonaro with continuity, was clearly seen. There was a lot of discussion over the boosting of pro-Bolsonaro content over pro-Lula content by Meta on its social media platforms.
In a Reuters report published in The Times of India (October 26 2026, Chandigarh edition) under the title ‘Did US campaign to tilt Brazil polls towards Bolsonaros?', it has been stated:
“Two US state department officials led a campaign to restore Brazil’s right-wing Bolsonaro clan to power and pushed sanctions intended to tilt the presidential elections in its favor, according to 10 current and former US officials with direct knowledge of the matter.”
Before the election campaign started, these two officials, Beattie and Pita, had told the US diplomats that the US policy was to restore Jair Bolsonaro as Brazil’s leader, and subsequently this support was concentrated on his son Flavio in the presidential election.
Further this report states:
“Since last year, the officials have advocated punitive measures designed to weaken Lula and boost the Bolssonaros, the 10 sources said.”
These steps included sanctioning Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes who led investigations into Jair Bolsonaro. In July 2025, the USA revoked eight Brazilian Supreme Court justices’ visas and imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods. Some of the punitive measures were diluted later following widespread criticism of these.
However it will be entirely wrong to blame only these officials for anti-democratic interference in Brazil, as such interference and covert regime change efforts go back much, much further and among other things can be seen in the impeachment of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff in 2016, the imprisonment of Presidential candidate Lula da Silva in 2018 and the loss of PT (Workers Party) in 2018 elections.
An important study later confirmed widespread allegations appearing time and again in Brazil and elsewhere that the USA played an important part in these events through its highly opportunistic use of anti-corruption movement, involving also illegal actions directed against these leaders and their political party.
This study is titled ‘Anti- Corruption and Imperialist Blind Spots—the Role of the US in Brazil’s Long Coup’ and is authored by Brian Mier, Bryan Pitts Sean T.Mitchell and others. This was published in Latin American Perspectives.
This study says—A comprehensive examination of the evidence available, contained in US government statements, English language media accounts and hacked telegram chats among Brazilian prosecutors indicates that the US was widely involved in the ‘long coup’ that removed the left from power in Brazil in 2016 and secured the elections for the far right in 2018.
The leading role in this was played by an anti-corruption movement called Lava Jato or Operation Car Wash. This movement was preceded by big gatherings which educated and trained potential participants in those kinds of ‘anti-corruption’ activities which could target public sector companies and political leaders and could secure international cooperation, particularly US cooperation.
Brazil had discovered new big oil deposits and this may have instigated foreign attempts to harm its public sector oil and petroleum interests, to pave the way for higher private sector role. President Rousseff’s efforts to cut private bank profits may have been another reason for targeting her.
A bigger reason may have been the strong role played by the governments of Lula and later Rousseff in protecting trade interests of developing countries, as well as their refusal to toe the US line in developing relations with countries like Iran, China and Russia.
The independent stand taken on Palestine may also have irked the USA. Obama’s personal dislike for Lula may have been an aggravating factor too, as also the general hostility to any left government.
As the study by Brian Mier et al tells us, in June 2019, the evidence on US interference via Lava Jato was already so strong that the PT leader in Congress, Paulo Pimenta was able to provide a dossier full of information. It included names of US prosecutors, public statements by government officials, proof of parallel meetings and events, official schedules, proof of informal violation in collaboration of national sovereignty laws and US officials in Brazil getting unrestricted knowledge of government authorities.
In 2020 Intercept journalists published Telegram communications which revealed that the Lava Jato team had repeated secret meetings with 17 (US) FBI agents bypassing national laws and regulations.
On the day that leading Presidential candidate Lula was arrested in 2018, a prominent leader of Lava Jato was heard commenting—this is a gift from the CIA.
While leading US media kept quiet about the US role in all this, the leaders of Lava Jato were given very good coverage to boost their image and present them as great heroes.
Adding up all the evidence, this study concluded:
“Over the past one decade, continuing evidence has emerged that clearly demonstrates that the US government, particularly the Department of Justice, under both Obama and Trump, played a key role in supporting Lava Jato’s politically motivated witch-hunt against the PT.”
Further this study states:
“The US has long used invasions, insurgencies and economic blockades to advance its interests in Latin America. Today it has added the tool of anticorruption to its arsenal.”
The PT government had big contributions in reducing poverty and inequalities, but these gains were rapidly rolled back within a few years of their ouster, with the income share going to the bottom 50% diminishing significantly and the income share going to the top 1% getting boosted in a big way.
What should serve as a lesson to other developing countries is how the USA operatives (using local collaborators) could achieve a government change and the imprisonment of highly popular leaders of the ruling party even in a leading country.
The legal and other aspects of anti-corruption international agreements were used to strengthen this capacity and this study quotes documents regarding use of anti-corruption movements to destabilize US competitors and perceived enemies.
Another very disturbing aspect is how a very opportunistic use was made of the anti-corruption rhetoric in a way that good leaders were turned into targets for corrupt practices while racketeers got celebrated as heroes.
Thus while opposing corruption in sincere and honest ways must be a very important aspect of any democracy, caution should be exercised clearly regarding opportunistic used of any anti-corruption movements.
[The writer, Bharat Dogra, is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071. His website is bharatdogra.in and his YouTube channel is Bharat Dogra| Save Earth Campaign.]
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