Latest news with #Lula
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: A just world order begins with the end of the veto
MULTILATERALISM may finally trump unipolarity and two blocs in the Global South — BRICS and Asean — are doing all they can to make that happen. About time. The United Nations stands crippled by the law of the powerful. There are 15 members in the UN Security Council (UNSC), the legislative arm of the world body, but even if 14 members agree to pass a resolution — a rare feat indeed in its nearly 80 years of existence — one veto will kill it, as it happened recently when the United States stopped the Gaza ceasefire resolution from being passed. This is not the world order the nations of the world signed up to. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, writing an opinion piece that was published on July 10 in newspapers around the world, including the weekly English edition of Spanish newspaper El Pais, pointed to the invasions of Iraq, Afghanistan, intervention in Libya and the war in Ukraine as examples of some UNSC members trivialising the illegal use of force. Even absent any form of threat whatsoever, one country is able to attack another sovereign country without any consequences, as happened in the recent invasion of Iran, first by rogue state Israel and then by the US. All because of a future threat, not a clear and present danger. Even the "future threat" is dismissed by the UN's nuclear watchdog as speculation. No chapter in the UN Charter allows such an invasion on a sovereign country, yet it happened. Not held to account, the villainous Zionist regime is threatening to invade again. If Teheran is an existential threat to Tel Aviv, the latter should be more so to the former because it already has nuclear weapons. Yet, the UN nuclear watchdog dares not criticise the rogue regime because the law of the powerful few makes sure that doesn't happen. For far too long, too many nations of the world have been treated unjustly by neocolonial unipolarity. Multilateralism must rise. It has no choice if it is to respond to "the cries of humanity fearful for its future", to use Lula's words. Asean, which is now beginning to show cohesion that was long absent, and BRICS, whose strength is growing as its membership increases, are the long ignored humanity's hope. Asean on its own may be viewed by the "mighty" powers of the current international order as inconsequential, but with BRICS, heft of all kinds is there for harvesting. Asean is the fifth largest economy of the world, and by 2030, it is projected to go a notch up. BRICS, on the other hand, makes up 40 per cent of the world's economy, according to the International Monetary Fund's data. The unipolar world order, fearing BRICS' growing heft, has been highlighting some of its members' "autocracies" and contradictions within the bloc. Even the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping gets the bromides it doesn't deserve. The colonial powers of the West may have been forced to declare the countries of the Global South independent, but unipolarity is colonialism by another name. It still "smells" of injustice and inequality. Multilateralism must trump the unipolar world order. Justice has no other avenue.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Lula's approval ticks up in Brazil after Trump threatens tariffs, poll shows
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wears a cap that reads \"Brazil belongs to the Brazilians\" as he gestures during ceremony to announce the start of payments under the Income Transfer Program for farmers and fishermen, in Linhares, Espirito Santo state, Brazil July 11, 2025. Ricardo Stuckert/Brazilian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo SAO PAULO - Approval for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government rose for the first time this year, a new poll showed on Wednesday, after his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil starting in August. The Quaest poll commissioned by brokerage Genial showed that 43% of those surveyed approve of Lula's administration, up from 40% in the previous poll in May. Meanwhile, the government's disapproval fell from 57% to 53% in the period. According to the poll, 66% of the respondents were aware of President Trump's letter announcing 50% tariffs on Brazil, while 33% were not. In the letter, Trump linked the tariffs to Brazil's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial over charges of plotting a coup to stop Lula from taking office in 2023. The poll showed that 72% believe that Trump is wrong to impose tariffs on Brazil due to what he sees as persecution of Bolsonaro, while 19% think the measure is right. Despite being barred from holding public office until 2030, Bolsonaro insists he will run against Lula in a rematch in next year's election, arguing he is the only figure on the right who can defeat the incumbent. Lula, 79, has hinted that he could run for reelection. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Singapore Primary 1 registration: 38 primary schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2A Singapore ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy Business Cathay Cineplexes gets fresh demands to pay up $3.3m debt for Century Square, Causeway Point outlets Singapore Instead of overcomplicating COE system, Govt has ensured affordable transport for all: SM Lee to Jamus Lim Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict The Genial/Quaest poll surveyed 2,004 eligible voters in person between July 10 and July 14. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points. REUTERS
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Lula's approval ticks up in Brazil after Trump threatens tariffs, poll shows
SAO PAULO, July 16 (Reuters) - Approval for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government rose for the first time this year, a new poll showed on Wednesday, after his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil starting in August. The Quaest poll commissioned by brokerage Genial showed that 43% of those surveyed approve of Lula's administration, up from 40% in the previous poll in May. Meanwhile, the government's disapproval fell from 57% to 53% in the period. According to the poll, 66% of the respondents were aware of President Trump's letter announcing 50% tariffs on Brazil, while 33% were not. In the letter, Trump linked the tariffs to Brazil's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial over charges of plotting a coup to stop Lula from taking office in 2023. The poll showed that 72% believe that Trump is wrong to impose tariffs on Brazil due to what he sees as persecution of Bolsonaro, while 19% think the measure is right. Despite being barred from holding public office until 2030, Bolsonaro insists he will run against Lula in a rematch in next year's election, arguing he is the only figure on the right who can defeat the incumbent. Lula, 79, has hinted that he could run for reelection. The Genial/Quaest poll surveyed 2,004 eligible voters in person between July 10 and July 14. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
CBS News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Brazil prosecutor says ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, guilty of violent coup plot
Brasilia — A prosecutor asked Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday to find ex-president Jair Bolsonaro guilty of plotting a coup, in closing arguments after a trial that saw President Trump try to intervene on behalf of his right-wing ally. Bolsonaro is accused of seeking to overturn the 2022 election won by his left-wing opponent, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The prosecution told the court that Bolsonaro, a former army officer, and seven others were guilty of participating in "armed criminal association" and had sought to "violently overthrow the democratic order." After the defense presents its closing arguments, a five-justice panel will decide the fate of the former president. If found guilty, Bolsonaro and his co-defendants could face up to 40 years in prison. Bolsonaro says he is the victim of political persecution, echoing Mr. Trump's defense when he faced criminal charges before his White House return. "It's not about imprisoning me; they want to eliminate me," Bolsonaro told news website Poder360 on Tuesday. Prosecutors say Bolsonaro tried to overturn his 2022 loss in a plot that only failed because the military did not side with him. The plan allegedly included dozens of people and involved a plot to poison Lula and shoot a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. Bolsonaro's defense team has vehemently denied the charges. Bolsonaro has also been barred from running for office until 2030, after casting doubt on the country's electronic voting machines. After the plot failed, violent Bolsonaro supporters rioted, rampaging through government buildings in the capital Brasilia in scenes that echoed the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Mr. Trump's supporters after the Republican lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. The trial has attracted attention from Mr. Trump, who returned to power in the 2024 election and continues to claim — despite this being rejected repeatedly by the courts — that he won in 2020. Mr. Trump has repeatedly called on social media for Bolsonaro's trial to be stopped, accusing the authorities in Brazil of mounting a "witch hunt" and a "disgrace." On July 9, he took his campaign to extraordinary new levels by announcing plans to tariff Brazilian imports to the U.S. at 50%, again citing what he called a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro. And on Tuesday, Washington said it was opening an investigation into "unfair trading practices" by Brazil, a move that could provide a legal basis to justify imposing tariffs on South America's largest economy. Unlike the tariffs that Mr. Trump is slapping on countries around much of the world, including top U.S. allies, the measures against Brazil — which are set to take effect on August 1 — were announced in openly political terms. Mr. Trump cited "Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections," among other issues, warning of further escalation if the country retaliated — something Lula indicated would happen. Unlike many other countries that have been threatened with tariff hikes, the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil, meaning Brazil buys more American goods than the U.S. buys from Brazil. Last year, the U.S. exported about $49 billion worth of goods to Brazil, and Brazil exported just over $42 billion in goods to the U.S., according to Census Bureau figures. On Friday, Mr. Trump reiterated his claim that Bolsonaro was being unfairly treated. "They're treating President Bolsonaro very unfairly," Mr. Trump told reporters, calling him "a good man." "I know the honest ones, and I know the crooked ones," he added. Lula has hit back at Mr. Trump's "interference," insisting that "no one is above the law."
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘A family of traitors': Trump's Brazil tariffs ultimatum backfires on Bolsonaro
Silvana Marques was one of thousands of Brazilians who flocked to São Paulo's most famous art museum one afternoon last week. But the 51-year-old teacher wasn't there to marvel over fog-filled London landscapes at Masp's new Monet retrospective. She had come to join a protest heaping scorn on Donald Trump. Beneath the museum's brutalist hulk, Marques spotted a cardboard effigy of the US president and took a picture with her phone before the Trump dummy was set on fire. 'Laranjão safado,' which translates as big orange dirtbag, she wrote under her photo on Instagram. Nearby, demonstrators hoisted a red banner into the air: 'Nice try Trump. But we're not afraid.' The rally was a response to Trump's decision last week to launch a politically motivated trade war against South America's biggest economy in an attempt to help his rightwing ally, the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, avoid jail. Bolsonaro could face up to 43 years in prison if found guilty of masterminding a botched coup attempt after losing the 2022 presidential election. He is expected to be convicted and sentenced by the supreme court in the coming weeks. On 9 July, Trump wrote to Brazil's leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to demand that the charges against Bolsonaro be dropped and announce he would impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports until they were. '[This] is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!' thundered Trump, long Bolsonaro's most important international backer. The US president apparently expected his intervention to improve the outlook for Bolsonaro, 70, who is already banned from running in next year's election. Bolsonaro's senator son, Flávio, urged Lula's administration to immediately cave in to Trump's ultimatum by offering his father an amnesty from prosecution. Flávio Bolsonaro likened Brazil's predicament to Japan's at the end of the second world war when the US's B-29 bombers blasted it into submission. 'It's up to us to show the responsibility to avoid two atomic bombs landing on Brazil,' Bolsonaro said. But a week after Trump's tariff announcement, the ploy seems to be backfiring badly. The move has reinvigorated Bolsonaro's leftwing rivals, given Lula a bounce in the polls and sparked a wave of public anger, largely focused on the Bolsonaro clan who have spent years portraying themselves as flag-loving nationalists. 'Jair Bolsonaro couldn't care less about Brazil. He's a phoney patriot,' the conservative Estado de São Paulo newspaper fumed on Tuesday, excoriating the ex-president's apparent willingness to throw his country to the wolves if it meant saving his own skin. The newspaper's editorial board instructed conservatives to pick their side: 'Brazil's or Bolsonaro's. The two paths are diametrically opposed.' Eliane Cantanhêde, a columnist for the Estado de São Paulo, saw three motives behind Trump's 'indecent proposal'. He hoped to boost far-right fellow travellers in South America; retaliate against Chinese involvement in the region after the recent Brics summit in Rio; and do a personal favour to Bolsonaro's son Eduardo, who has spent recent months lobbying officials in Washington after going into self-imposed exile in the US. But Cantanhêde believed Trump's 'megalomaniac' move had boomeranged, handing Lula a golden opportunity to recover slumping public support by posing as a nationalist defender of Brazilian coffee producers, orange growers, cattle ranchers and plane manufacturers in the face of Bolsonaro's anti-patriotic and self-serving sellout to Trump. 'Lula was on the ropes,' Cantanhêde said, highlighting the leftist's falling ratings and growing doubts over his ability to win a fourth term next year. 'Now he's all smiles.' She said Beijing – Brazil's biggest trade partner – would also be celebrating as Washington further damaged its standing in the region. 'Trump is pushing the whole world into China's lap,' Cantanhêde said. Nicolás Saldías, a Latin America analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, agreed Trump's pro-Bolsonaro intercession was a boon for Lula, who has taken to wearing a blue cap bearing the slogan 'Brazil belongs to the Brazilians'. Saldías, who is Uruguayan-Canadian, recalled how Trump's threats to annex Canada upended its recent election, helping Mark Carney's once flagging Liberal party keep power. He suspected Trump's trade war on Brazil would have a similar 'rally around the flag' impact for Lula – in the short term, at least. 'For Lula this is going to be helpful,' Saldías said, noting how his ratings had already risen and looked likely to rise further. 'This changes the game because now he's going to be seen as the defender of Brazilian nationalism, a kind of progressive nationalism.' Having spent months dreaming Trump might help save their leader from prison, the Bolsonaros appear to recognise they have scored an own goal. One source close to the ex-president's family told Reuters: 'The thrill of catching Trump's attention soon curdled as the Bolsonaros realised the crushing weight of the tariffs tied to their cause.' On Tuesday, Bolsonaro insisted he opposed the tariffs, which he blamed on Lula's 'provocation' of the US, and claimed he could fix at least part of the problem if given 'the freedom to talk to Trump'. Silvana Marques, the protesting teacher, was adamant Brazilian authorities should not yield to 'crazy' Trump's demands and let Bolsonaro off the hook. 'We cannot allow this to happen,' she said, remembering the dire consequences of failing to prosecute the military leaders behind Brazil's 1964-85 dictatorship. Like many Brazilians, Marques took a dim view of how – as she saw it – the Bolsonaros had encouraged Trump to wage economic war against their own country. 'They're a family of traitors,' she said. 'And the Americans must be thinking: are we really going to have to pay 50% more for the things we import from Brazil just to defend this worn-out old horse?'
