The result of the first round of presidential elections in Brazil, which took ultraconservative senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) and current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to the second round, scheduled for October 25, had immediate repercussions throughout Latin America.
The Brazilian election, in which Flávio Bolsonaro achieved 47.03% of the valid votes against 45.16% for Lula, became the epicenter of a regional geopolitical dispute that exposes the alignment of far-right leaders with Washington’s agenda. On the other hand, the resistance of progressive governments in defense of continental sovereignty.
The leaders of the Latin American progressive camp reacted with caution and firmness, denouncing the risks of social regression and submission to American interests. The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated that her government’s main ally is the Mexican people themselves and highlighted that it is necessary to wait for the final result of the second round before issuing any definitive opinion on regional geopolitics.
When asked whether Flávio Bolsonaro’s eventual victory would mean that the Mexican government would be left without allies in Latin America, the Mexican president minimized possible friction with the ultraconservative.
“Our main ally is the people of Mexico; as long as we are close to the people, representing the people and governing by the people and for the people, there will be no problem,” declared Sheinbaum during the press conference he holds daily. On the other hand, the Mexican leader stated that she will only issue opinions on the results after the end of the electoral process.
“We need to wait for the second round and, once the entire process is finished, we can give our opinion”, said the president.
Former Colombian president Gustavo Petro openly criticized the speeches of local right-wingers and denounced the interference exercised by Donald Trump’s government in Latin America. Petro emphasized that the brief periods of progressive and humanist governments were the only ones capable of reducing the region’s historic social inequality, pointing out that Washington’s strategy seeks to destroy sovereign projects and promote political instability.
“President Donald Trump decided to accept Marco Rubio’s proposal and prioritize, to the detriment of the anti-drug trafficking agenda, an agenda to destroy progressivism; it is worth remembering that progressive ideas are at the origin of all American republics, including the USA”, wrote Petro.
“The consequence of Donald Trump’s policies will be the increase in social and economic inequality, as well as the growth of drug trafficking, violence and migration towards the north. For the people of Latin America, whose elections were rigged by the direct interference of a foreign government, there is no alternative other than rebellion”, defended the former president of Colombia.
Trump and Rubio’s allies
On the side of conservative forces and the extreme right, the vote was received with an atmosphere of euphoria and celebration. The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, used social media to celebrate the results of the right in Brazil, classifying the election as historic and calling Lula a “communist leftist”. Milei once again exalted the motto of the ultraconservative movement in the United States by citing the acronym MAGA, an abbreviation of the motto of Trumpism in the United States: “Make America Great Again” (“Make America Great Again”, in Portuguese).
“A communist leftist loses to someone on the right and the markets celebrate with strong rises…
Impoverishing leftists, get out of the way, because we are trying to make the continent shine”, wrote Milei.
In another publication, the Argentine president directly congratulated the far-right candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, and stated that “freedom is advancing in Brazil”.
“Congratulations, dear friend Flávio Bolsonaro, on this historic election against the communist Lula”, published Milei, who is facing one of the worst crises of popularity, given the dizzying increase in poverty among the Argentine population.
In the same tone, the president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, stated that the true meaning of change lies in defeating the left, expressing public support for the Bolsonarist candidate.
“Today my heart is with Brazil; may God have mercy on our sister country, just as he had with Colombia. The real change is to defeat the left”, wrote Espriella. “A big hug, friend Flávio Bolsonaro. Stand firm for the country!”, published the Colombian president, who ends the publication with a salute to “Christ the King”.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado also celebrated the results of the election day, associating Flávio Bolsonaro’s performance with the attempt to defeat communism in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined the congratulations and expressed a desire to restore priority diplomatic ties with Brazil under an eventual right-wing government.
“My respect and affection to the people of Brazil for an exemplary democratic journey, in which they were able to proudly exercise popular sovereignty through voting. My recognition to Flávio Bolsonaro, winner of this first round”, published the leader of the Venezuelan far right.
“We, Latin Americans, want to live with freedom, democracy, prosperity and justice, and Brazil has a decisive weight in the future of our region,” said Machado. In the post, the Venezuelan politician said that “very soon, Venezuela will also advance on the path to freedom.”
Explicit intervention
The reactions of both blocs occur in a scenario marked by the intensification of Washington’s interference in Latin America, consolidated by the Donald Trump government’s strategy known as the Shield of the Americas. The region’s recent history accumulates episodes of economic pressure, sanctions and disinformation operations.
In Colombia, the election of Abelardo de la Espriella was surrounded by accusations of the massive use of artificial intelligence, digital robot farms and explicit support from the White House and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In Argentina, financial support of 20 billion dollars in currency swaps was openly conditioned on Javier Milei’s electoral success. In Honduras, the scandal known as Hondurasgate revealed negotiations and the pardon granted by Trump to former president Juan Orlando Hernández to reorganize local conservative forces.
Brazil in the sights of the empire
In the Brazilian case, warnings of foreign intervention left the field of suspicion and became the object of formal investigations. The Federal Police opened a preliminary investigation into possible United States interference in the 2026 electoral process.
The procedure was initiated after representation from the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), motivated by revelations that a US State Department fund allocated US$1 million to finance groups dedicated to attacking the Federal Supreme Court and undermining democratic institutions.
At the same time, Lula’s campaign sued the Superior Electoral Court to investigate the US embassy’s unilateral decision to suspend consular services in Brazil on the eve of the vote, alleging security threats that were not confirmed by Federal Police searches.
Historians and intelligence reports indicate that Washington’s actions attempt to create an environment of chaos and instability, seeing Lula’s leading role as an obstacle to plans for neocolonial domination and control of strategic resources in the Western Hemisphere.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
