Version imprimableAmong all the geopolitical, social and electoral processes and phenomena that are currently taking place in the world, the Brazilian elections occupy a very special place. While the far right is setting up an international project with neo-fascist features, claiming to advance a project for the future and defending the genocide in Gaza, the Brazilian electoral campaign is taking on a strategic dimension. Trump must push ahead with his plan for a new national security strategy, “Donroe”, as he has suffered a major defeat in the Middle East with the failure of the military aggression against Iran now confirmed.
Trump embodies a declining but more aggressive imperialism that is vying for spheres of influence with an emerging Chinese imperialism. To this end, he has mobilized a neo-fascist current with broad popular support and is acting in a coordinated manner, with Argentine president Javier Milei as the regional figurehead. After winning electoral victories, controversial though they were, in Peru and Colombia, Trump and Milei want Lula to be defeated in October at all costs. With Venezuela under trusteeship and Cuba harassed, the change of government in Brazil, which would tip South America’s largest country into the blue camp, is a strategic goal for Trumpism.
The heart of the conflict: imperialist offensive and sovereignty
The U.S. government is deliberately acting against Brazil’s sovereignty. In addition to the exorbitant tariffs, which impose a 37.5% tax on a wide range of Brazilian products, there are unequivocal signs of interference, such as the classification of the CV and the CCP as terrorist groups, the extension of the national state of emergency declared against Brazil, as well as the suspicions put forward about the regularity of the elections and electronic ballot boxes.
This new escalation resulted in the revocation of the diplomatic visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiza Viotti, an unprecedented measure that was clearly a retaliatory measure against the Brazilian position.
Milei was a leading figure at the Flávio [Bolsonaro] convention. He spoke out against “socialism” and called for the defeat of Lula and the left on the continent, hoping for the victory of the opposition in the Brazilian election. Milei concluded his “tour” of South America with the inauguration of Abelardo de la Espriella as the new president of Colombia.
The question of sovereignty will be at the heart of the Brazilian electoral debate. Tech giants, such as Peter Thiel’s Palantir (which set up shop in Argentina under Milei), act as a digital shock force in the service of the far-right project. One of their goals is to set up a techno-fascist experiment in the countries of the region, and this project also enjoys the enthusiastic support of Renan Santos and the Missão party in Brazil.
A victory for Flávio Bolsonaro would pave the way for a larger colonial offensive: control of land, ports, and many other national resources and infrastructure, while significantly strengthening U.S. interventionism in Latin America.
Independence or Trump!
A victory for Lula will serve as a “bulwark” against the right-wing and neo-colonial offensive. The Trumpist frenzy is aimed at controlling rare earths in Brazil, mining production, such as lithium in Argentina and Bolivia, as well as major waterways. The issue of the control of financial transactions, such as that of the Pix, is part of the general conflict and is becoming a central element in showing tens of millions of people how Trump’s line, favourable to the interests of the United States, will worsen the living conditions of the majority of the Brazilian population.
It should not be forgotten that the vast majority of the Brazilian elite accepts this situation of subordination, despite the complaints and losses. The shameful statement by the Minister of Defence, José Múcio, that he would “open the doors” in the event of a hypothetical invasion by the United States must be fought, as it is the expression of a “fifth column” of traitors within the government itself. It is also important to remember that Múcio was one of the leading voices in favour of reducing the sentences imposed on the perpetrators of the 8 January coup.
It is fundamental to reconcile the struggle for sovereignty, for effective independence from imperialism, with the defence of democratic rights and a program that responds to the demands of the majority of the population. Flávio [Bolsonaro] embodies a project of regression in the living conditions of women and black and indigenous populations, who would be directly affected by his machismo, racist and predatory extractivism positions.
A victory for Lula would rebalance the balance of power on a continental scale. And it would pave the way for the defeat of Trump, who is already struggling in Iran and likely to lose the US midterm elections next November. That’s the whole issue.
The strength of the PSOL
Beyond the defeat of the far right, the October elections will be about strengthening the PSOL and its parliamentary group, overcoming the exclusion clause and sending a signal to the anti-capitalist left around the world. The PSOL’s new dynamic, as its closest wing of the government is in the process of leaving the party, strengthens its political independence and gives it international legitimacy.
The Brazilian elections could reflect the shift to the left that certain sectors of the masses are currently taking. The rise of the DSA in the United States, where pro-Palestine candidates defeated the Zionist lobby in the Democratic primaries, is part of a dynamic that combines unity to confront the far right and the construction of a new pole to the left of the traditional parties. The victory of Doctor Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primaries in Michigan is not the least: he defeated the pro-Israel sectors of the party establishment, in a movement strongly embodied by Zohran Mamdani – the current mayor of New York – and which is spreading thanks to an increasingly radicalized fringe of the American population.
All other things being equal, Argentina’s quest for renewal is reflected in the strengthening of the Left Front (FIT-U), which exceeds 10% in most opinion polls. This movement is accompanied by widespread mobilizations against Milei’s policies of privatization and capitulation in the country, which are increasingly aggravating the already difficult economic situation of the Argentine working class. Around the world, Gen Z is in a fierce struggle, and polls indicate that the trend to embrace socialist ideas is growing among young people, including in the United States and other major countries.
A victory for Lula and the rise of the PSOL would constitute points of support to coordinate an international anti-fascist movement, combining the fight against the global far right with the defence of the sovereignty of the peoples. This is why we are participating in the organization of a new regional edition of the International Anti-Fascist Conference, which will be held next December in Argentina.
The order of the day is to take up this slogan everywhere: “Trump, out of Brazil and out of all of Latin America!”
7 August 2026
Translated by International Viewpoint from Inprecor. Original publication in Movimento.
