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A diplomatic dispute between Brazil and the United States has opened a new front in Brazil's increasingly tense presidential campaign. Brazil denied visas to two U.S. State Department officials who planned to visit the country. Brazil's president alleged their trip was aimed at interfering in the election. Washington rejects that. Catherine Osborn reports from Rio.
CATHERINE OSBORN: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made the comments at a campaign event with political allies as he seeks reelection later this year.
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PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA: (Speaking Portuguese).
OSBORN: Lula said Brazil had no choice but to refuse the visas.
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LULA: (Speaking Portuguese).
OSBORN: Brazilian officials feared Washington could use the officials' visit to raise questions about the reliability of Brazil's electronic voting machines. After far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election to Lula, he falsely claimed there was fraud involving the voting machines. He was later convicted for his role in an attempted coup aimed at overthrowing that result and is barred from running for office again.
Fast-forward to 2026, and his son, right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, is now running in his place and trailing in the polls. Last week, Flavio Bolsonaro questioned the reliability of the voting system in a speech.
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FLAVIO BOLSONARO: (Speaking Portuguese).
OSBORN: Flavio Bolsonaro and his allies have traveled to Washington several times in recent years in an effort to build closer ties with President Trump. The U.S. State Department has denied that the officials who hoped to go to Brazil this week planned to undermine Brazil's vote. It says they were due to hold meetings on election integrity and freedom of speech and religion instead. Lula has gained support in recent polls after challenging Trump over increased U.S. tariffs.
BRUNA SANTOS: Lula wants the perception of American preference for Flavio to be as explicit as possible.
OSBORN: Analyst Bruna Santos of the Inter-American Dialogue says Lula sees a political advantage in linking Trump to his opponent. She says Lula is framing the dispute as a defense of Brazil's sovereignty, while Bolsonaro presents his U.S. ties as a political asset.
SANTOS: We should expect more accusations of election meddling as October approaches.
OSBORN: The election is shaping up to be another deeply polarized contest - an old political rivalry playing out with some new faces.
For NPR News, I'm Catherine Osborn in Rio de Janeiro.
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