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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.
Photo: NurPhoto via AFP
China-Latin America relations

UnionPay to link Chinese payment apps to Brazil’s Pix after US tariffs

Central banks stay silent on pilot that would let tourists scan and pay weeks after Washington taxed the system.

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Americas and the Caribbean

US revokes visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington in escalating row

Americas and the Caribbean

At 80, Brazil’s Lula launches campaign for fourth term

China-Latin America relations

Brazil is now the world’s biggest buyer of Chinese cars: China customs

Purchases hit US$5.2 billion in five months, pushing the sector’s trade gap to its widest since records began in 1997.

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The BYD Dolphin Mini became Brazil’s best-selling retail vehicle in February as imports of Chinese-made cars surged. Photo: BYD
South Korea

How South Korea can ease Brazilian concerns to unlock trade in South America

Money and technology transfer are the keys to opening the door to free trade with Mercosur members, according to analysts.

China-Latin America relations

Brazil turns to China trade deal after Trump tariffs, as years of resistance end

Xi and Lula agree to fast track Mercosur trade talks, endorsing a deal Brasilia fought to bury when Uruguay first proposed it.

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China-Latin America relations

Trump, tariffs and ties with China at stake in Brazilian presidential race

Polls show Beijing-friendly incumbent Lula neck and neck with Washington’s favoured candidate ahead of closely watched October election.

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (left), seen here with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in May 2025, is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term as leader of the South American country. Photo: AFP
China-Latin America relations

China vows to defend Brazil’s sovereignty as Trump’s 25% tariff bites

Wang Yi tells Brazilian foreign minister Beijing backs Brazil’s sovereignty, and asks for support on ‘China’s own core interests’ in return.

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Brazil

Rubio says 25% US tariffs on some Brazilian goods price for Lula’s ‘ego’

Brazil denounced the levies, saying ‘there’s no justification for unilateral measures against our country’.

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China-Latin America relations

A year into Trump’s tariffs, Brazil trades less with US and more with China

Trading report lands as USTR weighs extra 25 per cent levy and Flavio Bolsonaro tells hearing that Lula ‘licks China’s boots’.

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A worker washes coffee beans at a plantation near Pocos de Caldas, Brazil. Brazilian coffee exporters now sell most of their produce to Europe. Photo: AP
China-Latin America relations

Aid for Venezuela, China-Colombia ties: 7 Latin America relations reads

From Argentina’s move towards Beijing to Lula’s beef deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in June 2026.

A Brazilian rescuer works in the aftermath of earthquakes in Venezuela. Photo: Reuters
Venezuela

Venezuela earthquakes draw aid from governments that cut ties with Caracas

Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and other governments that suspended relations with the country offer rescue teams and humanitarian aid.

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China-Latin America relations

EU pitches Brazil a ‘more beneficial’ rare earths deal than US or China

EU’s Jozef Sikela promises refining investment and technology transfer, in a race for Brazilian minerals that the US and China already lead.

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SCMP Highlights

Trump urged Xi to resolve Ukraine war; China’s tech sanctions list: 7 highlights

From Hong Kong’s baby Danny DNA case to North Korea’s Kim meeting winning football team, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.

President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Beijing on May 15. Photo: AFP
China-Latin America relations

‘I will sell to someone else’: Brazil’s Lula hits back at US after China beef win

The president also branded Rubio a ‘frustrated Latino’ and vowed Brazil would ‘not be treated as an insignificant little republic’ by the US.

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Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks in Brasília as trade tensions with the US escalate. Photo: Reuters
United States

US proposes 25% tariff to punish Brazil over trade practices

The measures cover areas such as electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, intellectual property protection and the ethanol market.

China-Latin America relations

US’ Cuba-China fears, Panama pressure: Latin America relations reads

From Argentina’s shrinking China lifeline to the US’ Cuba worries, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in May 2026.

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China-Latin America relations

China urges Brazil to jointly repel ‘external challenges’ as ties deepen

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira meets Wang Yi and Han Zheng as Brazil seeks key stable fertiliser supply amid US-Iran conflict.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Monday. Photo: Xinhua
Brazil

US targeting of drug gangs seen as attempt to shake up Brazil’s election

Analysts say Trump’s designation of PCC and Red Command is a political boost for Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of October vote.

Brazil

US labels major Brazilian crime groups as terrorist organisations

Washington equates PCC and CV with global terror groups like Isis, opening the door for aggressive US interventions.

Brazil

Jailed banker ties roil Flavio Bolsonaro’s Brazil presidential hopes

Bolsonaro’s poll numbers take a hit from scandal over disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro’s US$24 million film funding pledge.

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Photo: AFP
China-Latin America relations

Lula won’t sideline China on rare earths, tells Trump refining stays in Brazil

In a three-hour White House meeting on Thursday, Brazil’s president pitched his country’s minerals to all comers.

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures to reporters following his White House meeting with US President Donald Trump, at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
China-Latin America relations

China pours US$6.1b into Brazil, making it Beijing’s top global investment

Chinese miners, carmakers and tech firms are fanned out across 20 states, putting a dent in Washington’s own push throughout the region.

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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

Researchers warn that fires fuelled by climate change are a dangerous new normal and could reverse gains made in tackling deforestation.

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An aerial picture shows iron ore mines at the foot of Mount Leuser National Park - a cornerstone of rainforest - in Aceh, Indonesia on April 9. Photo: EPA
Spain

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

The Spanish leader is hosting heads of state and government in a bid to counter the US president and revive the political left.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (right) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attend the Spain-Brazil Summit in Barcelona on Friday. Photo: EPA
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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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.

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