247 - Celso Amorim, Special Advisor for International Affairs to the Presidency of the Republic, harshly criticized the letter sent by former US President Donald Trump to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In the letter, Trump announces a 50% tariff on Brazilian products and attacks Brazilian institutions, accusing the Judiciary of conducting a"witch hunt" against Jair Bolsonaro. Amorim described the content as"unprecedented" in more than six decades of diplomatic activity. The information was published by the newspaper O Globo.
"The letter begins by talking about Bolsonaro, the Justice Department, and the Supreme Court, and then moves on to the tariff. In over 60 years of diplomacy, I've never seen anything like it," said Amorim, who also served as chancellor during Lula's first two terms.
starting next month. The justification presented by the former US president is politically motivated, citing the Brazilian justice system's treatment of Jair Bolsonaro—currently a defendant in the Supreme Federal Court (STF)—and US technology companies.
The former Brazilian president is accused of leading an attempted coup d'état that resulted in the attacks on the headquarters of the Three Powers on January 8, 2023. The trial of Bolsonaro and others involved in the episode is expected to take place by September of this year.
The Brazilian government's reaction was immediate. After an emergency ministerial meeting on Wednesday night, Lula took to social media to state that"any unilateral tariff increase will be met in light of the Brazilian Economic Reciprocity Law." The president added: "Brazil is a sovereign country, with independent institutions that will not accept being subordinated by anyone."
During the meeting at the Planalto Palace, it was decided that the Secretary for Europe and North America of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, Maria Luísa Escorel, would summon the chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Brasília for the second time on the same day. Escorel stated that Brazil would return the letter sent by Trump, considering it offensive and full of falsehoods about the country.
Even before it officially reached the Brazilian government, Trump had already shared the letter on his social media platform Truth Social, heightening diplomatic tensions. According to sources at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the gesture reinforced the perception that the former American president is attempting to exploit bilateral relations for the benefit of political allies.
