Lula's Party Links Bolsonaro Family to New US Tariffs on Brazil

Brazil's Workers' Party (PT), the center-left party led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, launched a campaign on Wednesday linking the Bolsonaro family to new US tariffs on Brazilian exports, according to single-source reporting from O Globo.

The campaign, called "O Brasil não se entrega" — roughly, "Brazil Does Not Surrender" — was released the same day that tariffs imposed by Donald Trump's administration took effect. PT materials accuse the Bolsonaro camp of helping create a measure the party says will hurt Brazilian businesses and national sovereignty.

A Sovereignty Message

Éden Valadares, PT's national communications secretary, said the campaign aims to connect the tariff dispute to everyday economic concerns. He cited jobs, industry, Pix — Brazil's instant-payment system run by the Central Bank — and strategic resources such as rare earths and minerals.

"We want to show, in a simple and direct way, how the defense of sovereignty is in the daily life of each one of us," Valadares told O Globo.

The message fits Lula's broader re-election framing, in which his government has portrayed itself as defending Brazil's economy against foreign pressure. It also gives PT a campaign line against former President Jair Bolsonaro's political network, now centered in part on his son Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator from the right-wing Liberal Party (PL) and a presidential contender.

Polling and the Tariff Cost

A Genial/Quaest poll released last week and cited by O Globo found that more Brazilians sided with Lula than with Flávio Bolsonaro in the political dispute over the US tariffs. Asked whom they agreed with, 51% chose Lula and 30% chose Flávio Bolsonaro.

The additional 25% tariff adopted by the Trump administration is expected to affect 15% of Brazil's export basket to the United States, or about US$5.8 billion based on 2025 trade volumes, according to Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), as reported by O Globo.

The measure has sharpened the rivalry between PT and Bolsonaro allies. Lula's government condemned the tariff and accused the Bolsonaro family of acting as "false patriots" who publicly supported measures against Brazil for electoral reasons.

Bolsonaro Camp Responds

Flávio Bolsonaro has rejected the government's framing. According to O Globo, he said Lula "no longer has the conditions to be president of Brazil," accused the administration of delay, incompetence and revenge, and called Lula the "Brazilian Biden," a reference to former US President Joe Biden, a frequent target of Trump's political base.

O Globo reported that Flávio Bolsonaro spoke in Washington this month against the tariff and defended Pix, in what the newspaper described as an attempt to reduce political damage from Bolsonaro-aligned support for foreign sanctions tied to alleged rights violations against allies.

The tariff fight now blends trade policy, election messaging and Brazil's relationship with the United States. Government allies have labeled the Bolsonaro camp "entreguista," a Brazilian political term for figures accused of yielding national interests to foreign powers. Bolsonaro supporters, meanwhile, argue that the Planalto Palace, Brazil's executive seat, provoked Washington and failed to negotiate effectively.

O Globo also reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Lula had not negotiated in "good faith." The article did not provide further details on the context of Rubio's statement.