Overview
- Lula opened the General Assembly by defending Brazil’s courts and citing Jair Bolsonaro’s 27-year coup conviction as proof that would-be autocrats can be held accountable.
- Washington tightened pressure in the hours before the speech, revoking visas for Attorney General Jorge Messias and other officials and applying Magnitsky sanctions to a Supreme Court justice’s spouse.
- Trump, speaking after Lula, criticized Brazil’s judiciary but said the two shared “excellent chemistry” in a brief encounter and agreed to meet next week, a possibility Brazil’s presidency acknowledged.
- Brazilian assets rallied on the prospect of dialogue, with the real strengthening about 1% and the Bovespa index hitting a record high.
- Trump’s 50% tariffs on many Brazilian imports remain in force, and Brasília has weighed retaliation under its Reciprocity Law even as it signals readiness to negotiate.