Lula says he will warn Trump at UN General Assembly against interfering in Brazil’s election

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday that he will use the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York to personally warn US President Donald Trump against interfering in Brazil’s October presidential election.

Addressing thousands of supporters at a campaign rally in Ceilandia, he delivered a sharp rebuke of foreign influence and his opponent, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who maintains close ties with the White House.

"On Sunday at 10 am, I’m getting on a plane to attend the UN meeting to speak with Trump and tell him: do not interfere in Brazil’s elections," Lula said. "Brazil does not want to be anyone's colony. Brazil wants to be sovereign, led by Brazilians, and to build its future with the sweat and blood of Brazilians."

Taking aim at the opposition leader's alignment with Washington, he said "this country does not tolerate politicians who display the national flag by day, yet get down on all fours before the United States and the American flag by night."

Lula is scheduled to deliver the opening address at the UN General Assembly next Tuesday, followed immediately by Trump, a sequence that will likely force a high-profile encounter between the two leaders despite the absence of a formal bilateral agenda.

Ambassador Carlos Bicalho Cozendey, secretary of Multilateral Political Affairs at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, confirmed that while no specific bilateral meeting is currently planned, the two presidents are expected to cross paths in New York, repeating a similar scenario from the previous year's assembly.

The diplomatic friction between Brasilia and Washington has intensified in recent months over unresolved trade disputes, tariff pressures and security policies, compounded by Trump's explicit political backing of former President Jair Bolsonaro and his eldest son, Flavio.

The political sparring comes as new polling underscores an exceptionally tight contest. An AtlasIntel/Bloomberg survey released Thursday showed Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro locked in a statistical deadlock ahead of a potential Oct. 25 runoff.

Under Brazilian electoral law, if no candidate secures more than 50% of valid votes in the first round on Oct. 4, the top two finishers will advance to a head-to-head second round at the end of the month.