Agenda mismatch prevents meeting between Lula and Trump at the Asean summit

Due to a mismatch of agendas, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will not meet with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, during the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Portuguese) summit in the Philippines, which takes place starting on Sunday (15).

Lula participates in the summit as a guest of the bloc's presidency on Sunday, but leaves the country in the afternoon. Trump, in turn, is only expected to arrive in Manila on Monday (16) to participate in the meeting between the USA and Southeast Asian countries. Afterwards, the American heads to Shenzhen, China, to participate in the Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, in Portuguese) summit.

The absence of a meeting occurs amidst a scenario of diplomatic tension between the Trump administration and the Brazilian government following the presidential election in October. Since being re-elected, Lula has not yet spoken to Trump, who has not publicly recognized the PT member's victory nor congratulated him on his victory against Flávio Bolsonaro (PL).

There was no request for talks from either the Brazilian or the American government during Asean. Although he has not yet recognized the result, Trump stated that he would speak to Lula. Without the bilateral meeting in Asia, members of the Brazilian government told Folha that the first meeting between the two after the elections should take place in Miami, in December, during the G20 summit.

In addition to the Philippines, Lula will have bilateral meetings with Canada and Singapore during the Asean summit. Brazil wants to raise its formal status within the bloc to stop being a sectoral dialogue partner and become a full dialogue partner, a category that would increase access to the bloc.

Trump even questioned the legitimacy of the Brazilian election. On October 26, one day after Lula's re-election, the American stated that the election had appeared to be a "rigged election", without presenting any evidence. In another statement, he said that the dispute had been a "shame" for Brazil.

The statements were made after the defeat of Flávio, who lost the presidential race to Lula by more than 4 million votes. The senator refused to recognize the result and even defended the annulment of the election, alleging irregularities in the extension of voting hours determined by the STF (Supreme Federal Court), although his party also requested the postponement.

Two days after the defeat, Flávio left Brazil and fled to the USA. The escape occurred after an order from Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF, for him to hand over his passports to the Brazilian authorities, as Flávio is being investigated in two investigations that are being processed in court.

In one of them, the senator is suspected of money laundering through betting platforms with lawyer Willer Tomaz. At the same time, he is being investigated for financing the film "Dark Horse", about the trajectory of his father, Jair Bolsonaro.

Before losing the elections, his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro defended Flávio's escape if he lost the elections.

Already in American territory, the senator claimed to be a victim of political and judicial persecution and presented himself as the true leader of the country, but later retreated and said he was the Brazilian "leader".

Trump, in turn, stated that Flávio could remain in the US “as long as he wanted”. The Republican also said he had no plans to meet with the senator.

Despite the episode, Lula intends to maintain dialogue with the American government. The assessment at Palácio do Planalto is that Trump tends to favor relations with leaders who won elections, and that the Brazilian president should not turn Flávio's escape into an obstacle to bilateral rapprochement.