Lula Concludes New York Trip Riding High After Trump Shout-Out

 Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is on a winning streak, and he has Donald Trump largely to thank. 

Lula’s opening speech at the UN General Assembly this week got multiple rounds of applause as he called for higher taxes on the super rich, debt relief for impoverished African nations, and an end to Israel’s “massacre” of Palestinians. 

But he scored an even bigger triumph when Trump took the podium immediately after, saying that he’d bumped into Lula backstage and agreed to meet next week to discuss their differences.  

“At least for about 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry,” Trump told global leaders, in remarks that sent Brazil’s stocks, bonds and currency soaring. 

The months-long dispute with Trump propelled Lula’s approval ratings higher as Brazilians welcomed his defiance in the face of US tariffs and his defense of “non-negotiable” national sovereignty. Then, in a very brief exchange with the US leader, he managed to score a much sought-after meeting to discuss these policies. 

“What once seemed impossible stopped being impossible — and it happened,” Lula told reporters in New York on Wednesday as he prepared to return to Brazil. “I was happy when he said that there was a good chemistry between us, since I believe that human relationships are 80% chemistry and 20% emotion.”

Lula was already riding a wave when he arrived in New York on Sunday. His main opponent, former President Jair Bolsonaro, had just been sentenced by the Supreme Court to more than 27 years in prison for attempting a coup against him. 

And the 50% tariffs Trump imposed on many Brazilian goods in an effort to stop the trial of his ally Bolsonaro not only boosted Lula’s popularity, but also shook the standing of the Bolsonaro family and their allies. 

The trip also underscored Lula’s international popularity. A handful of world leaders asked to take pictures with the Brazilian president while he watched Trump’s speech from the General Assembly hall Tuesday, and many more came to shake his hand after the US president was done. French President Emmanuel Macron made an effort to speak to him in Portuguese.

“This is the kind of leadership we need here at the headquarters of the UN in New York,” Jochen Flasbarth, a German official, told Lula at an event hosted by Brazil where the president announced he’s committing $1 billion to support forest conservation worldwide. 

At another event on democracy Lula held with other leftist leaders on Wednesday, he didn’t mention the Trump administration, which he had been criticizing only a day earlier, suggesting a deescalation in rhetoric ahead of next week’s meeting.

Way Forward

As the two countries hammer out the details of a possible meeting, Brazilian authorities have remained cautious. The government says it’s leaning toward a phone call with Trump due to Lula’s tight schedule. However, that is also designed to avoid the kind of awkward Oval Office moments experienced by the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa, according to two diplomats familiar with the discussions, who are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Brazil is now weighing what it might offer at the negotiating table. Lula has repeatedly stressed that interference in the work of the Supreme Court is unacceptable. 

Cabinet members have floated the idea of discussing topic such as critical minerals and data centers, as well as tariffs. 

Another source of friction has been Brazil’s efforts to regulate social media companies such as Elon Musk’s X, with Washington accusing the country of censorship. Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said Wednesday that the two governments could also discuss “how to balance freedom of expression with protections for children.”