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Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
The latest news and top stories on Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president. A former metalworker and prominent trade unionist, he co-founded the Workers’ Party and previously served as president from 2003-2011, overseeing significant poverty reduction and economic growth. Re-elected in 2022, his current tenure focuses on advocating new development models and strengthening cooperation across the Global South. He champions the New Development Bank’s role in emerging economies, pushing for reforms in traditional financial institutions and a more multipolar international system.
Brazil’s Congress ⁠has overturned President ⁠Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s veto on a bill ​sharply reducing former president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence. Photo: AFP
Jair Bolsonaro

Brazil’s Congress forces early release for jailed Bolsonaro in blow to Lula

Lawmakers override presidential veto to reduce 27-year sentence, signalling a shift in power five months before elections.

Climate change

Tropical forest loss still 11 football fields a minute – or Denmark per year

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Spain

Spain signs deals with Brazil as Sanchez builds anti-Trump bloc

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United States

Lula blasts Trump’s fear-based rule, calls for ‘great maturity’

‘Trump has no right to wake up in the morning and threaten a country,’ Brazil’s president says.

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A woman walks next to an anti-US mural on a street in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. Photo: WANA via Reuters
China’s private sector

Chinese firms drawn to Brazil as they seek anchor for Latin America expansion

Chinese brands like Mixue, BYD, and Geely are surging into Brazil, leveraging strong trade ties and local strategies for growth.

United States

Former Brazil spy chief arrested by ICE in Florida

The fugitive ex-intelligence head, convicted of plotting a coup with Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested for a minor traffic ‌violation and then referred to ICE.

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China-Latin America relations

Cattle prices rocket as Brazil set to exhaust Chinese beef quota by May

As Beijing tariff nears, Brazil’s exporters are rapidly reaching their quota for China, forcing South American industry to seek new buyers.

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People shop for beef at a supermarket in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China. Brazil’s beef exporters are rapidly filling their quota for China, leaving them now seeking new buyers. Photo: China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
China-Latin America relations

Brazil blacklists China EV giant BYD for its slave labour conditions

Government officials said staff were working excessively long hours while being kept in degrading circumstances in their accommodation.

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Brazil

Brazil court grants house arrest for jailed Bolsonaro due to ill health

Judge authorises an initial 90-day medical reprieve for the former president following his hospitalisation.

Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro in ICU with pneumonia

The ex-president, who is serving a 27-year sentence for an attempted coup, was moved from prison to a hospital in Brasilia.

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Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro attends a rally in Sao Paulo in June 2025. Photo: AFP
Americas and the Caribbean

Trump offers Latin American leaders US missile strikes to hit drug cartels

The US president launched a 17-nation ‘counter cartel’ coalition at his ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit.

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US President Donald Trump attends the “Shield of the Americas” summit in Miami, Florida, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Brazil

Supporters of ex-president Bolsonaro rally across Brazil against Lula

Protesters in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia voiced their opposition to the current president, who faces a tough re-election bid.

India

India’s AI superpower dream: flush with cash, short on capacity

India’s AI ambitions could add half a trillion dollars to its economy or deepen inequality if cannot train up its workforce fast enough.

South Korea

South Korea’s Lee uses AI to honour shared factory worker past with Brazil’s Lula

The gesture accompanied Lula’s state visit to Seoul, where the two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral ties.

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Screenshots from an AI-generated video posted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung showing young versions of himself and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva embracing as well as the two of them hugging in real life during Lula’s state visit to Seoul. Photo: X / Jaemyung_Lee
Brics

Why Brics can’t do away with US dollar even as currency cooperation rises

Brazil says there has been no proposal or talks within Brics to create a common currency across the bloc.

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Brics leaders meet at their 2025 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: AFP
India

India and Brazil set sights on US$30 billion trade milestone by 2030

The two founding Brics members are deepening links on rare earths, innovation and AI to diversify growth beyond the West.

India

India, Brazil sign rare earths deal to build ‘resilient supply chains’

With China holding a near-monopoly on rare earths production, India and other countries are seeking alternative sources.

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India

India AI summit aims to shift focus from model races to scaled reality

The event offers emerging economies a chance to reframe AI as public infrastructure and work together to put it into public services.

Delegates at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: AP
US-China relations

US seeks fair China competition, looks to realign Latin America ties

Scott Bessent says Washington wants to reduce security risks without decoupling from Beijing as it steps up engagement across Latin America.

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China-Latin America relations

Brazil scraps EV tariff break for Chinese carmaker BYD amid pressure from rivals

US, European and Japanese manufacturers combined to lobby for an end to favourable rules for Chinese kit imports.

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China-Latin America relations

Xi, Lula stress UN’s value in call as US actions unsettle regional diplomacy

China reaffirms commitment to international law, negotiated diplomacy in region, while Brazil eases visa requirements for Chinese nationals.

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Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Xi Jinping after a signing ceremony and a joint press conference, in Beijing in May, 2025. Photo: AFP
European Union

South American bloc and EU sign long-awaited FTA amid Trump’s tariffs

The deal creates one of the world’s largest free trade areas after 25 years of tricky negotiations.

A worker sets up the stage for the signing ceremony of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur in Paraguay’s central bank in Asuncion on Friday. Photo: AFP
Brazil

Brazil’s Bolsonaro sent to prison with roomier cell, more perks

Ex-president moved to a detention complex five times the size of his current room, with a kitchen and a private outdoor area.

US-China relations

Brazil-China trade hits record US$171 billion in 2025 as US tariffs prompt pivot

The US is a distant second in trade volume with Brazil as Beijing helps soften the impact of Washington’s levies.

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Asean

Opinion | Why US ops in Venezuela have shaken Asia-Pacific’s middle powers

Middle powers fear a return to ‘rules of the jungle’ geopolitics as rival powers carve out spheres of influence.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US-Venezuela conflict

How the US raid in Venezuela has triggered Brazilian fury and a Chinese opening

Latin America’s largest economy seeks ‘delicate balance’ between Trump’s ambitions and boosting ties with Beijing, its top trading partner.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
Donald Trump

Trump says Colombia’s Petro to visit US, in U-turn from threats to diplomacy

Just days ago, Trump had issued a warning to the South American leader for criticising the US attack that removed Venezuela’s Maduro.

Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Lula vetoes law cutting Bolsonaro’s 27-year jail sentence

Congress has the last word, however, and can in turn reject the president’s veto.

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