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President Donald Trump suggested on Monday, without providing evidence, that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's reelection was "rigged." "Elections have to be indisputable and it looked very bad to me," Trump told reporters before flying to Mississippi for a rally. He added, "I thought it had a very bad look, the way it was tabulated." Trump also said: "It looked like another rigged election, frankly." Da Silva's comeback to win Brazil's presidential runoff Sunday is already facing its first hurdle as his competitor, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, challenges the results, setting the stage for a possible showdown between the country's two polarizing political forces. Lula, who convinced an extra 10.4 million voters to support him in the runoff, is expected to take office on Jan. 5, 2027, for his fourth non-consecutive term. He will serve as a counterweight in a region where leaders are shifting to the right and aligning with U.S. President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro, son of former
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his "remarkable re-election victory" and said he is looking forward to working closely with him to further deepen and expand the multifaceted strategic partnership between the two countries. Lula was re-elected as President of Brazil on Sunday. "Heartiest congratulations to my dear friend, President Lula, on his remarkable re-election victory. I look forward to working closely with him to further deepen and expand the multifaceted India-Brazil Strategic Partnership," Modi said in a post on X. Together, the prime minister said, India and Brazil will continue to strengthen cooperation across diverse sectors, advance the shared priorities of the Global South and work towards a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable world. With 100 per cent of the vote counted, Brazil's electoral court announced that Lula had a lead of nearly 4.4 million votes -- 51.8 per cent of the total vote -- ov
Brazil's Senate dealt a political blow to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday by rejecting his nomination to the Supreme Court, the first in more than 130 years. Only 34 senators voted in favour of Jorge Messias, who has been Brazil's solicitor-general since 2023 and a close legal advisor to Lula, while another 42 rejected his appointment. Messias needed 41 votes to be approved. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October for his fourth inconsecutive term, picked Messias to replace Luis Roberto Barroso, who resigned in November. Since then, Brazil's top court has operated with 10 members. Earlier, 46-year-old Messias was approved by a Senate commission, but the full house disagreed in a secret vote. Besides Lula, other members of the court were openly campaigning for the solicitor-general, who also tried to garner votes from lawmakers of Evangelical faith like him. Brazil's president will have to nominate another person, who will have to go through the same scrutiny be
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday said his country advocates governance which ensures that artificial intelligence (AI) strengthens democracy, social cohesion and sovereignty of nations. In his address at the Leaders' Plenary Session at the AI Impact Summit here, he also asserted that putting human beings at the "centre of our decisions is an urgent task". Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit and unveiled the 'MANAV' vision for a human-centric approach and use of AI with a strong accent on sovereignty and inclusivity. The inaugural ceremony saw the presence of several heads of state, including President Lula, French President Emmanuel Macron, many global AI leaders, academicians and researchers, heads of many tech giants and philanthropists, among others. At the Leaders' Plenary Session, the Brazilian president delivered an address in Portuguese. He also posted excerpts from his speech in a series of posts in Portuguese on X along wi
The Brazilian government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to support local exporters affected by a 50 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on several products from the South American nation. Dubbed Sovereign Brazil," the plan provides for a credit lifeline of 30 billion reais (USD 5.5 billion), among other measures. Brazil's President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva described the plan, which includes a bill to be sent to Congress, as a first step to help local exporters. Congressional leaders attended Wednesday's ceremony, a first in months, in a sign of growing political support for the leftist leader in response to Trump's tariffs. Other measures announced by the Brazilian government include postponing tax charges for companies affected by US tariffs, providing 5 billion reais (USD 930,000) in tax credits to small and medium-sized companies until the end of 2026 and expanding access to insurance against cancelled orders. The plan also incentivises public purchases of items th
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired Brazil's army chief on Saturday amid concerns over threats to the country's democracy following the January 8 uprising in the capital by far-right protesters. The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said Gen. Julio Cesar de Arruda had been removed as head of the army. He was replaced by Gen. Toms Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who was head of the Southeast Military Command. In recent weeks, the military has been targeted by Lula after supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed through government buildings and destroyed public property. Lula said several times in public that there were definitely people in the army who allowed the rioting to occur.
Skittish Brazilian authorities on Wednesday spared no effort to boost security in the face of a social media flyer promoting a "mega-protest to retake power" in two dozen cities. Whether because of preventative measures adopted or not, the supposed uprising was a dud. Less than 10 protesters showed along Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach; there were more journalists in attendance, plus 29 police vehicles. On Brasilia's esplanade surrounded by federal government buildings, authorities had designated an area for protest and stationed police and national guard troops. Just one couple showed, dressed in the same Brazil soccer jerseys that thousands of rioters wore four days earlier. "We were surprised to be the only ones here today," said Eunice Carvalho, a 58-year-old housewife joined by her husband. "People got scared after the imprisonments, which were excessive." Speaking to journalists in Brasilia earlier, the federal appointee who has assumed control of the capital's security sai