BRASÍLIA, Feb 21, 2024 (AFP) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken told President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that the United States disagrees with controversial remarks by the Brazilian leader comparing Israel’s actions in Gaza to the Holocaust, a US official said Wednesday. Blinken “made clear we disagree with those comments” in a more than 90-minute meeting with Lula, a senior State Department official told journalists, saying the pair had a “frank exchange” during the […]
Tag: lula
Brazil’s Lula in Argentina to ‘rebuild bridges’ in first foreign trip
by Mauricio RABUFFETTI Agence France-Presse BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday started his first foreign trip since being elected with a meeting in Buenos Aires with Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said before the trip that Lula was looking to “rebuild bridges” with the international community after four years of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro’s populist leadership. The two leftist leaders were to […]
Brazil’s Lula sacks army commander after anti-government riots
Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Sunday 1/22/2023 by Ramon SAHMKOW President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sacked the commander of Brazil’s army Saturday, two weeks after an election-denying mob loyal to his far-right predecessor ransacked the halls of power in Brasilia. The veteran leftist’s dismissal of Julio Cesar de Arruda came a day before Lula was to make his first trip abroad — to Argentina — as he moves to put the South American powerhouse […]
Lula returns vowing to rebuild, reunify Brazil
by Ramon SAHMKOW Agence France-Presse BRASÍLIA, Brazil (AFP) — Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office Sunday for a third term as Brazil’s president, vowing to fight for the poor and the environment and “rebuild the country” after far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro’s divisive administration. The 77-year-old veteran leftist, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, took the oath of office before Congress, capping a remarkable political comeback for the metalworker-turned-president less than five years […]
Bolsonaro, Lula trade jabs in Brazil debate
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Sparks flew Sunday as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro accused leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of massive corruption — and drew accusations of “destroying Brazil” in return — as they faced off in their first election debate. The two front-runners, who waited until the last minute to confirm they would attend the first televised debate ahead of October’s elections, wasted no time in attacking each other. Bolsonaro called Lula […]
Brazil’s Lula ties the knot months before presidential election
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the front-runner in Brazil’s October presidential elections, took a break from campaigning Wednesday to marry his fiancee and fellow Workers’ Party member, sociologist Rosangela da Silva. The former president posted a photo on Instagram Wednesday night in which he appears to be saying his vows to Da Silva while placing a wedding ring on her finger. Lula, 76, and Da Silva, 55, tied the […]
‘I’m back’: Brazil’s Lula fills leftist leadership void
by Louis Genot, with Jordi Miro in Brasilia RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Out of jail and full of rage, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has put his far-right nemesis President Jair Bolsonaro in the cross-hairs, as he takes up the mantle of leading the left. Declaring “I’m back” in a fiery speech to hundreds of supporters near Sao Paulo on Saturday, Lula, 74, appeared energized by his year-and-a-half-long incarceration for corruption as […]
Thousands rally in Brazil to protest Lula’s first year in prison
CURITIBA, Brazil (AFP) — Several thousand supporters of former Brazilian president Lula Inacio da Silva rallied on Sunday outside the prison where he has now been held for a year, as they demanded his release and chanted slogans against current leader Jair Bolsonaro. In a letter read by Workers’ Party president Gleisi Hoffmann, Lula, who is 73, insisted that his conviction on corruption charges was “unjust,” designed expressly to prevent him from returning to the […]
Brazil high court suspends order that could free Lula
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — The chief judge of Brazil’s supreme court suspended Wednesday an order by another justice on the tribunal that could have freed former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from prison, where he is serving time for graft. Chief Justice Jose Antonio Dias Toffoli said he had approved an objection by public prosecutors against the provisional order issued just hours earlier by the top court’s Justice Marco Aurelio Mello. Mello had ruled […]
Brazil’s Lula quits presidential race, Haddad to run instead
by Rosa Sulleiro Agence France Presse CURITIBA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s jailed ex-leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tapped his runningmate Fernando Haddad on Tuesday to replace him on the ballot in next month’s presidential election, bowing out of the race after he was barred from seeking a new term. The switch was approved at a meeting of the Workers Party in the southern city of Curitiba — where Lula has been held since […]
Imprisoned Lula registers Brazil presidential candidacy
by Jordi Miro Agence France-Presse BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Imprisoned leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s unlikely bid for Brazil’s presidency took a big step forward Wednesday with the formal registration of his candidacy in the capital Brasilia. About 10,000 red-clad Workers’ Party faithful marched on the Supreme Electoral Court, where top Lula allies did the paperwork to name the two term ex-president, now in jail for corruption, as their champion in Brazil’s October […]
Probe launched of judge who ordered Lula freed
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Prosecutors in Brazil ordered an investigation Wednesday of the appellate judge who caused a legal mess over the weekend, unsuccessfully ordering former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to be freed. Attorney General Raquel Dodge ordered an investigaiton into the actions of appeals judge Rogerio Favreto, who was the weekend duty magistrate. Dodge said there was evidence that when he acted professionally, he did so “motivated by personal feelings […]





