President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a victory speech after winning a fourth term in the presidential runoff in , Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

On Oct. 25, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva became president of Brazil for the fourth time. After a first-round defeat, he made a radical comeback and won the election with 51.8 percent over his rival, President Trump’s ally Flávio Bolsonaro, who reached 48.2 percent. That’s a difference of more than 4 million votes.

Following his victory, Lula stated that Brazil “will not accept being anyone’s backyard.” The next day, President Trump said it “looked like another rigged election.” Despite this, the two presidents have met three times over the last 13 months — not out of ideological affinity, but rather for the sake of commercial pragmatism.

In 2025 , U.S. goods and services trade with Brazil totaled $135.7 billion, up 6.5 percent from 2024. The U.S. is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner .…