21
April
2026
Lula's visit to Berlin took place against a politically sensitive background. The Trump administration has begun to split Latin America's existing regional organizations - the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) - and to replace them with a new organization that includes only right-wing and ultra-right states: the Shield of the Americas. So far, twelve states belong to him, including the USA Argentina under President Javier Milei, El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele, known for his inhumane prison policy, and Ecuador under President Daniel Noboa, the sprog of a very rich banana dynasty. Officially, the Shield of the Americas serves the fight against drug cartels. For this purpose, military action is to be used above all, as the Trump administration is doing in the Caribbean; there, the US military have now killed at least 180 people with 52 missile attacks on alleged or actual drug boats so far.[ 1] Observers suspect that in the long term the far-right alliance should also contribute to Washington's fight against China's influence on the continent.[ 2] The three most populous states - Brazil, Mexico, Colombia - are now ruled rather on the left and do not belong to the association.
Of course, this can change. In Brazil, presidential elections are held in October. Whether Lula will compete again is not yet officially certain. Will run against him, as ex-President Jair Bolsonaro is in prison due to his coup attempt at the beginning of 2023 and his son Eduardo, who was originally intended as a political successor, is accused of coercion of justice and lives in US exile, his eldest son Flávio.[ 3] Lula had a big lead over Flávio Bolsonaro in polls for a long time, until he began to catch up at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, Lula's victory no longer seems to be secured. Trump is clearly committed to Flávio Bolsonaro, who - like the entire Bolsonaro clan - is politically close to him. A few weeks ago, an influential employee of the US State Department, Darren Beattie, tried to visit Jair Bolsonaro in prison and also to meet Flávio - a barely veiled campaign aid. The Lula government opposed the open interference in the internal affairs of their country and refused entry to Beattie. 4] Trump had previously tried to extort the termination of the criminal proceedings against Jair Bolsonaro by imposing punitive tariffs - without success.
In line with the escalating conflict with Washington, Lula spoke sharply about the Trump administration's policy several times before the start of the third German-Brazilian government consultations yesterday, Monday. He said last week in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine: "Trump was not elected emperor of the world. He cannot constantly threaten other countries with war. 5] The world is in the process of "turning into a single theater of war"; it must therefore be urgently "put in order". In a name article for the daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Lula stated: "I am convinced that multilateralism has no alternative." Unfortunately, unilateral action is gaining ground in international relations. 6] Together with Germany, Brazil therefore wants to give new strength to multilateral policies. At the opening of the Hanover Fair on Sunday, Lula judged that the war of the USA and Israel against Iran was "madness"; it is not any of the fact that around 2.7 trillion US dollars a year are spent on wars worldwide, while countless people continue to live in poverty or even suffer from hunger. 7] This must change urgently, Brazil's president demanded.
In order to counterbalance the strengthening influence of the United States on Brazil's important raw materials sector, Lula proposed closer cooperation to Chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday, Monday, in the sense of mineral resources. Brazil has large quantities of raw materials, including particularly sought-after ones such as niobium, which is needed for the production of solar cells, as well as rare earths. Especially around the rare earths, a fierce competition has flared up. So far, they have been funded by the Brazilian company Serra Verde.[ 8] This had the rare earths prepared so far in China. Recently, however, in return for a high loan from the USA, it has had to promise to deliver its rare earths only to the United States, at best to their allies. 9] The consequences are not entirely clear, because in Brazil the rights to award raw materials lie with the government. This now insists on settling the preparation of the rare earths in its own country in order to have larger parts of the value chains. 10] Against this background, Lula Merz has now offered that in addition to US and Chinese companies, German companies could also participate.
In addition, Germany and Brazil are expanding their military and arms cooperation. As the German Ministry of Defense reports, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira signed a declaration of intent on Monday in Hanover, which, on the one hand, provides that Berlin and Brasília "work together more strongly on various maritime, land-based and air-based procurement projects". 11] This should cover "the entire process" of procurement: "from contract negotiation to training to integration and operation of the systems". In addition, both sides agreed to deliver four more frigates to the Brazilian Navy. Traditionally, Germany is not one of the most important arms suppliers of the South American country, which so far procures its armaments rather in France, Italy and the United States. In 2019, however, TKMS succeeded in obtaining an order for the delivery of four MEKO A-100 frigates to Brazil. The ships are being built in Brazil – by the Águas Azuis consortium in Itajaí a few hundred kilometers south of São Paulo, which was formed by TKMS and the Brazilian Embraer group. Águas Azuis is now to build four more frigates - a foretaste of the general expansion of the arms cooperation.
[1] Lazaro Gamio, Carol Rosenberg, Charlie Savage: Tracking U.S. Military Killings in Boat Attacks. nytimes.com.
[2], [3] S. The Submission of Latin America (II).
[4] Michael Pooler: Brazil blocks visit of Trump official to see jailed Jair Bolsonaro. ft.com 03/14/26.
[5] Marian Blasberg, Jens Glüsing: "Trump was not elected Emperor of the World". spiegel.de 16.04.2026.
[6] Luis Inácio Lula da Silva: Brazil's president relies on cooperation. tagesspiegel.de 17.04.2026.
[7] Lula denounces "madness" of the Iran war. tagesspiegel.de 20.04.2026.
Ana Ionova, Ju Faddul: Brazil Hesitates as U.S. Pushes Rare Earths Partnership. nytimes.com 20.03.2026.
[9] Camilla Hodgson, Michael Pooler: US secures rare earths supply as part of $565mn loan to Brazil mining group. ft.com 01.04.2026.
[10] Igor Patrick: Brazil demands rare earths be processed at home as US and China compete. scmp.com 15.04.2026.
[11] Germany and Brazil strengthen defense policy partnership. bmvg.de 20.04.2026.