(Reuters) .- The president of Brazil said that the use of international trade as an instrument of coercion and blackmail is an act of “enemies of democracy”, in what seemed an allusion to the practices of the Government of Donald Trump, which announced a 50% tariff to Brazilian exports to the United States.
“The extreme right organized internationally offers a new Washington consensus, or rather a Washington dissent. Antidemocratic, denialist and interventionist,” said Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a speech to civil society during a meeting on the defense of democracy in Chile.
“The enemies of democracy no longer resort to the diplomacy of tanks and cannons. They control algorithms, sow hatred and spread fear. They promote a true cultural war. They use trade as an instrument of coercion and blackmail,” he added.
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In a letter to the Brazilian government, Trump announced the imposition of commercial tariffs of 50% to Brazil, although the country has a commercial deficit with the United States.
In the text, Trump said the tariffs would be taxes, among other things, so he called the persecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is being sued for being involved in an attempted coup d’etat after his electoral defeat in 2022.
Lula also defended the regulation of social media and Big Tech platforms, another issue mentioned by Trump in his letter.
According to the Brazilian president, societies “will be under constant threat without the regulation of digital platforms and Big Tech.”
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