Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) also filed a case with the Superior Election Tribunal (TSE) against the far-right presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, seeking a probe into alleged U.S. support for his campaign.
In an unprecedented move last Wednesday (September 23, 2026), Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s campaign asked the country’s Federal Supreme Court (STF) to “investigate the possible U.S. interference in the country’s electoral process”.
The petitions came the same day as 14 countries belonging to the Shield of the Americas, a group of right-wing Latin American governments assembled by U.S. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speak to reporters after a meeting in New York, U.S., on September 21, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters Brazil goes to the polls on October 4 in a tense election. If they meet again in the second round on October 25, polls show a close race, adding to fears of U.S. interference influencing the result. Lula’s party — is the alleged funding of his campaign through the U.S.-based RockBridge Network, an organisation created in 2019 by J.D.
Flávio — made by Renan Santos, a right-wing candidate, and reported to TSE by Mr. It was reported last week that a delegation linked to Mr. Brazil’s two criminal organisations, First Capital Command (PCC) and Red Command (CV), were among the groups mentioned in the deal. Mr. Lula immediately hit back at the decision. In his UN speech, Mr. Lula minced no words about how the U.S. threat is being perceived in Brazil. Lula declared to loud applause. The Brazilian did not meet Mr. Trump in New York; instead, he engaged with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders, in what was seen as a political message to Mr. Trump. Mr. Lula leads Mr. Flávio by five points in the first-round polls. In recent months, the Trump administration has put enormous pressure on Brazil through tariffs , sanctions and by classifying PCC and CV as terrorist organisations. Another serious charge against Mr. Vance, now U.S. Vice President, and Chris Buskirk, and funded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel. “It is an open secret that Mr. Thiel now lives in Argentina and he is working closely with the (Javier) Milei government. “We suspect the Big Tech, in alliance with Trump, is doing everything they can to support Flávio. While Mr. Flávio has made it clear that, if elected as President, he would openly follow pro-Trump policies in Brazil, especially in the area of natural resources like critical minerals and rare earths. But some even on the right see that attitude as a big problem for Brazil’s sovereignty. Trump for his attempt to influence the result in favour of the far-right candidate.
President Donald Trump, signed a pact designating 24 drug-trafficking groups as “shared threats”. “Brazil does not underestimate the challenge posed by organized crime, but it does not intend to outsource the responsibility of protecting its citizens,” the Brazilian leader said in his speech at the United Nations. “In Latin America and the Caribbean, geographical proximity to the world’s greatest military power is inescapable… But Brazil does not fit in anyone’s backyard,” Mr. We are certain that he is using his money and tech power to influence the Brazilian election,” says a PT campaign official who does not want to be named as a case has already been filed with TSE. “Donald Trump is seeking to take control of the Panama Canal, a free country, and now he wants to interfere in Brazil,” Renan Santos, of the Mission party, said in an interview last week, criticising Mr.
Thiel was in São Paulo just months before the official beginning of the election campaign.
