Lula government sees Bolsonarist offensive to attract Trump to the 2026 dispute

On the side of Brazilian diplomacy, the hope is that there will be a relationship of pragmatism between Trump and Lula. Insistently, the foreign ministry recalls how the Brazilian managed to create a relationship with George W. Bush, considered something unlikely.

In fact, Brazil’s ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiza Viotti, has already had a first contact with Trump’s team. At a meeting with several ambassadors in December, she was able to exchange a few words with the future National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz. Interlocutors indicated that she explained to Trump’s envoy that Brazil would like to talk and open channels of dialogue.

Before the election, a team from Itamaraty was also deployed to Washington to dialogue with the Republican wing and conservative groups in the US.

After Trump’s election, both the Palácio do Planalto and the new president’s team reached out to coordinate a phone call between Lula and the Republican. But the date offered by the American coincided with the G20, chaired by Lula.

The fact that the future head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, spent five hours in a hearing in the Senate last week and did not mention Brazil once was considered a positive point for the Brazilian foreign ministry. The hope is that this means the country is not a priority focus.

But this time, there is an element that did not exist 20 years ago, with Bush: the Brazilian extreme right. In Brasília, the trip of Eduardo Bolsonaro, Michelle Bolsonaro and a delegation of parliamentarians to the events of Trump’s inauguration is an effort to strengthen themselves domestically, already thinking about the 2026 presidential elections.