Brazil calls for investigation into alleged US funding of far-right agenda

Brazilian authorities on Thursday asked police to investigate an alleged plan by the US government to direct public funds to promote a “far-right agenda” in Brazil. In three days, Brazilians are called to the polls for a presidential election which promises to be very close between left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and conservative senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Lula, who is campaigning on the defense of Brazilian “sovereignty”, has repeatedly accused US President Donald Trump of seeking to interfere in the election. The Union's attorney general, Jorge Messias, responsible for defending the legal interests of the Brazilian state, called for an investigation after the British daily The Guardian wrote that Washington earmarked a million dollars to finance civil society organizations opposed to Brazil's Supreme Court.

The article “is a serious alarm signal for Brazilian sovereignty,” said Mr. Messias on the social network

“Particularly serious” information

Donald Trump is an ally of Flavio Bolsonaro's father, the far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, under house arrest for attempted coup d'état against Lula in 2022. The American president openly supported several conservative candidates during the recent elections in Latin America.

The information published by the British newspaper is “particularly serious in view of the Brazilian electoral process and recent episodes of external pressure on our institutions,” insisted Jorge Messias.

In July, Washington imposed two waves of surcharges on Brazilian products, citing alleged unfair trade practices. The Brazilian government rejected these arguments. Tensions between the two countries have lasted since 2025, when the United States imposed a first surcharge in retaliation for the trial which resulted in Jair Bolsonaro being sentenced to 27 years in prison.