Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is on a winning streak, and he has Donald Trump largely to thank.
Lula is returning to Brazil after a successful participation at the United Nations General Assembly, where he positioned himself as a global voice on inequality and climate change, while also opening the door to a long-awaited conversation with the US president.
The leaders of the two biggest democracies in the Americas bumped into each other as the Brazilian left the UN stage and, in an encounter that lasted less than one minute, agreed to meet next week to discuss their differences.
“What once seemed impossible stopped being impossible — and it happened,” Lula told reporters at the UN on Wednesday, before departing to Brasilia. “I was happy when he said that there was a good chemistry between us, since I believe that human relationships are 80% chemistry and 20% emotion.”
Lula invited Trump to attend the COP30 climate summit in Brazil this year and, while stressing that sovereignty and democracy are “non-negotiable” topics, said he is willing to explore areas of cooperation including critical minerals and digital infrastructure.
Lula’s upbeat tone contrasted with his sharper rhetoric earlier in the week, when he denounced US tariffs and indirectly accused Washington of interfering in Brazil’s domestic affairs. At the UN, however, he appeared eager to show flexibility, insisting that Trump had been “misinformed” about Brazil.
“When he has the correct information, I think he can change his position easily, just as Brazil can change its position,” he said.
As the two countries hammer out the details of a possible meeting, Brazilian authorities have said they’re leaning toward a phone call with Trump due to Lula’s tight schedule. However, that is also designed to avoid the kind of awkward Oval Office moments experienced by the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa, according to two diplomats familiar with the discussions, who are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Growing Momentum
Lula was already riding a wave when he arrived in New York on Sunday.
The months-long dispute with Trump propelled his approval ratings higher as Brazilians welcomed his defiance in the face of US tariffs and his defense of “non-negotiable” national sovereignty. His main opponent, former President Jair Bolsonaro, had just been sentenced by the Supreme Court to more than 27 years in prison for attempting a coup against him.
The trip also underscored Lula’s international popularity. A handful of world leaders asked to take pictures with the Brazilian president while he watched Trump’s speech from the General Assembly hall Tuesday, and many more came to shake his hand after the US president was done. French President Emmanuel Macron made an effort to speak to him in Portuguese.
“This is the kind of leadership we need here at the headquarters of the UN in New York,” Jochen Flasbarth, a German official, told Lula at an event hosted by Brazil where the president announced he’s committing $1 billion to support forest conservation worldwide.
At another event on democracy Lula held with other leftist leaders on Wednesday, he didn’t mention the Trump administration, which he had been criticizing only a day earlier, suggesting a deescalation in rhetoric ahead of next week’s meeting.
