The President of the United States, Donald Trump, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) held a meeting lasting almost an hour and a half by telephone to talk about the tariffs imposed on Brazilian products this Friday (21). In the call, Lula stated that the tariffs are unfounded. “Noting that tariffs negatively affect both Brazil and the United States, [Lula] stated that remaining at the negotiation table is the best option for both countries”, said an official statement about the phone call.
In an interview with BdF Connectionyes Radio Brasil de FatoGustavo Menon, professor at the Catholic University of Brasília (UCB) and at Prolam-USP, considers that, despite the apparent opening of dialogue, Trump is not trustworthy. Therefore, it is not possible to assume greater negotiation on tariffs in the short term.
“We are talking about a series of statements that, overnight, change the content in terms of this new US foreign policy. In this sense, a lot of calm and parsimony is recommended, since we know that the main target of the US leader this semester is the Brazilian electoral process”, he highlights, recalling the efforts to implement the Shield of the Americas, Trump’s military project for the Latin region of the continent.
Gustavo Menon reinforces that the White House has been acting with “unilateral, arbitrary and deeply illegal policies in order to move forward with this resurgence of interference policies”, and this is not exclusive to Brazil. “The US is conceiving the Latin American region as a whole, including Brazil, as a region of its historical influence, and this ends up crystallizing in the formulation of the hemispheric defense policy, including criminal organizations such as narco-terrorist groups. So, everyone becomes a terrorist”, says Menon, remembering the episode that occurred on January 3, when the Trump government attacked Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro.
The analyst assesses that Lula has placed Brazil’s sovereignty as a priority, showing that we can negotiate with any other nation in the world. “Lula has sought to maintain the best diplomatic and dialogue traditions, managing to maintain good relations with the USA, but without leaving aside multipolarity. Therefore, we are seeing agendas in Brazil that seek alternatives to forge this multipolarized order”, he explains. “We need to be very attentive to the White House’s next steps, especially during this election period”, he warns.
To listen and watch
The newspaper BdF Connection airs in two editions, from Monday to Friday: the first at 12pm and the second at 5pm, on Radio Brasil de Fato98.9 FM in Greater São Paulo, with simultaneous transmission also on YouTube do Brasil de Fato.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
