Trump’s Brazil Blow-Up Raises Stakes as Leftist Leaders Meet
Fresh off Donald Trump’s threat to slap 50% tariffs on Brazil, a summit of leftist leaders risks triggering a broader backlash from the White House.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric received on Monday Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez and Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi for the one-day conference in Santiago. The meeting’s goals of fomenting multilateralism and combating disinformation risk provoking a backlash from Trump, who floated tariffs against the BRICS bloc of emerging-market countries when they criticized his levies at a separate gathering earlier this month. Then he trained his rage on host-nation Brazil.
This summit now puts a bullseye on leaders like Boric, who has so far evaded Trump’s threats, as well as others like Petro, who is navigating souring relations with the US. On July 16, Trump said he will send letters to over 150 countries notifying them of tariffs in the latest sign of his strategy for weaponizing trade. As many nations strive to work together to blunt the effects of protectionism, Trump is showing he won’t hesitate to lash out against critics.
Monday’s meeting mirrors growing cooperation in other regions of the world such as the European Union, which is preparing to step up engagement with countries like Canada that have been hit by Trump’s tariffs and ultimatums.
Boric opened the summit with a call to defend truth and science against disinformation and the misuse of technology. He also warned of threats posed by political extremism, hate speech, concentration of power and corruption.
The gathering in Chile marks the first formal, face-to-face encounter of the group following an online conference in February this year. The group’s proposals will be presented and developed further at its next meeting on the sidelines of September’s United Nations General Assembly.
“These are countries that are not inclined to just bow down and make concessions to Washington, given the very coercive and punitive approach that Washington is taking,” said Kenneth Roberts, a Cornell University professor of government who focuses on Latin American politics.
Source : Bloomberg
