Lula warns against foreign interference in Brazil election at UN

Lula’s remarks come as Trump asserts US power in Latin America in his own UN address.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has warned against attempts to interfere in Brazil’s upcoming election, using his address to the United Nations General Assembly to deliver a broader defence of the country’s sovereignty amid tensions with the United States.Speaking in New York on Tuesday, Lula said Brazil would not allow either domestic or foreign actors to undermine the October 4 vote, which will see him seek a fourth non-consecutive term.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4BRICS meets in India: What’s on the agenda, why it matterslist 2 of 4BRICS nations urge ‘restraint’ in Middle East, smooth flow of global tradelist 3 of 4Brazil’s Lula announces welfare increases ahead of presidential electionlist 4 of 4Brazil election: Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro tied in latest pollsend of list“Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians,” Lula said towards the end of his speech. “Brazil will remain a sovereign country.”The warning followed several apparent references to Brazil’s increasingly strained relationship with the administration of US President Donald Trump, although Lula did not mention Trump by name.Earlier in the speech, Lula said Latin America was facing a resurgence of “hegemonic ambitions” and foreign interference in elections.“Brazil does not belong in anyone’s backyard”, he said, adding that attempts to divide the world into spheres of influence were “anachronistic”.The comments come after Lula accused the Trump administration of trying to influence Brazil’s election through economic pressure. Washington imposed two new rounds of tariffs on Brazilian goods in July, and Lula said last week that he intended to directly tell Trump, an ally of Lula’s main rival Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, not to interfere in the vote. Bolsonaro is the son of former right wing President Jair Bolsonaro.Brazil has so far held off on retaliating against the US while trade negotiations continue, although Lula said on Monday in an interview with CNN that it could still invoke its reciprocity law if talks fail.