Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: I have no relationship with President Trump

Ione Wells speaks to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of
Brazil in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview.


He sets out his anger not only at the hefty trade tariffs imposed
on his country by President Trump, but also at the lack of
communication or negotiation from the US administration. Now, he
says, he has no relationship with the American president.


President Lula da Silva does not want to celebrate the recent
guilty verdict and lengthy sentence handed down to his
predecessor Jair Bolsanaro for plotting a coup against him. But
while he hopes Mr Bolsanaro continues to defend himself, for now,
he says, he is guilty.


The President also attacks what he views as the outdated and
unrepresentative nature of the United Nations, and claims the
conflict in Ukraine would not have happened if the UN was more
effective. He describes the war in Gaza as genocide. President
Lula da Silva has been in office since 2023, and also led Brazil
between 2003 and 2011. He’s been a figurehead of the left in the
country for many decades, having risen through the trade union
movement into politics.


Thank you to Ione Wells and Jessica Cruz for their help in making
this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with
people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best
interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service,
Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The
Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or
wherever you get your podcasts.


Presenter: Ione Wells Producer(s): Ben Cooper, Jessica Cruz and
Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang


Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the
hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.


(Image: Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Credit:
Andre Borges/EPA/Shutterstock)