Last month, I reported on Facebook allowing ads riddled with disinformation related to Brazil’s presidential election to be posted. Several days ago, Meta took it a step further, banning the current president’s campaign from running ads on the platform and labeling all of President Lula da Silva’s posts as “election propaganda.” Additionally, X recently banned the National Conference of Bishops account on its platform as Catholic support for da Silva continues to grow. Flavio Bolsonaro, who is running against Lula and is supported by the White House, has not been scrutinized to the same extent, despite his spreading misinformation.
The Trump administration has made its interference abundantly clear by employing nearly identical strategies of interference used in previous elections over the last two years. One key element involves direct threats to the voting populations of several countries. His attacks on the country’s largest payment processor and threats of ending economic partnerships and trade deals if Brazilians don’t vote for Bolsonaro are a distinct part of the White House’s overall strategy of coercion and manipulation throughout the region.
Additionally, the military buildup in the region, along with the rhetoric surrounding it, acts as the proverbial gun to the heads of 700 million people in Latin America. Military strikes under the guise of counter-narcotics operations have been conducted in several countries. Many have targeted people opposed to the manufactured far-right takeover of Latin America. Other strikes have killed fishermen. On his recent trip to three Latin American countries, Secretary of State Marco Rubio rationalized killing the fishermen by accusing them of illegally fishing.
“Our goal is to go after illegal fishing and stop those from going out there. There are… There is illegal fishing. They’re raping the Galapagos,” Rubio said when asked about fishermen being killed in Ecuador as a result of counternarcotics operations.
For the White House’s part, it has made broad accusations against da Silva’s government, even going so far as to outline a list of manufactured grievances against Brazil last year and declaring a National Emergency. The Executive Order accuses the country of being a threat to the U.S. The order imposed a 40% tariff on goods coming from Brazil. While the Department of State under Rubio has denied U.S. interference in Brazil’s elections, the White House’s actions, along with doctrines and speeches preaching recolonization, speak loudly.
An issue da Silva is not taking lightly.
In a recent ad, da Silva’s campaign highlighted how Trump wants to “colonize” Brazil, saying, “Flávio Bolsonaro is Trump’s candidate and what Trump wants is to colonize Brazil, take our riches, steal our future and leave us in the dust.” At the United Nations General Assembly, da Silva said, “We will not allow the enemies of democracy – internal or external – to attack the will of the people. Brazilian democracy belongs to the Brazilians.”
With an election as close as this one promises to be, efforts by the U.S. political class and its corporate interests to sway the election are a serious cause for concern. Right-wing presidential candidate Renan Santos also denounced the White House’s actions, saying, in part, “They want to interfere in Brazil’s elections to secure satisfactory contracts involving rare earths.” Bolsonaro, who’s running on a Christian nationalist platform, is facilitating these fears by closely aligning himself with the Trump administration.
“Yes, I see a risk, and I have been clearly denouncing US intervention in Brazilian elections,” said Santos in a recent interview. “I don’t want to see Latin America becoming an American protectorate. Donald Trump is aiming to control the Panama Canal, a free country, and now Trump wants to control Brazil.”
As the election and interference heat up, a coalition representative, da Silva, has asked Brazil’s top electoral court to investigate U.S. interference. The 117-page filing accused Bolsonaro, his running mate Alfredo Gaspar, and his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro of abusing political and economic power and improperly using the media to spread disinformation. The filing also seeks an investigation into the conservative U.S. donor network co-founded by JD Vance for providing financial and political support to Bolsonaro’s campaign.
As social media companies seek to suppress da Silva’s reach on their platforms, a separate filing by the Workers’ Party seeks a federal investigation into U.S. election interference based on paid posts from outside Brazil promoting Bolsonaro across their platforms. As of this writing, Facebook has removed the “election propaganda” note from da Silva’s posts; however, it is unclear if his campaign can run ads on Meta platforms. With just days to go before the election, the real on-the-ground impacts of this U.S.-led election manipulation have yet to be seen.
Additional Reporting
Reporting from Michael Fox, who is in Brazil
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
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