The campaign of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has alleged that US President Donald Trump is seeking to shape the outcome of Brazil's forthcoming election and advance American interests in the country's resource-rich economy.
The US State Department has rejected the allegations of election interference.
The allegations were aired by Lula's campaign in a 60-second election video published Thursday, just over a week before Brazilians head to the polls on October 4.
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The campaign alleged that Trump was backing Lula's rival Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, as part of an effort to advance US interests in Brazil.
“Flávio Bolsonaro is Trump's candidate and what Trump wants is to colonise Brazil, take our riches, steal our future and leave us in the dust,” the narrator says in the advertisement, according to reports.
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The US State Department has denied claims that Washington is attempting to interfere in Brazil's democratic process.
Last month, the department described suggestions of a US effort to undermine Brazil's elections as a “baseless lie”. Lula has separately accused Jair Bolsonaro of being willing to give Brazil's natural resources to the United States. In a post on X, Lula said that if Bolsonaro had his way, “Brazil will become a colony again”.
The allegations come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Brasília.
The Trump administration has imposed a 25% tariff on Brazilian imports, adding to economic and diplomatic strains between the two countries.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, Lula warned against attempts by both domestic and foreign actors to interfere in Brazil's electoral process.
“We will not allow the enemies of democracy – internal or external – to attack the will of the people. Brazilian democracy belongs to the Brazilians,” Lula said.
Lula's Workers' Party has also approached Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, accusing Flávio Bolsonaro and his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro of abuse of political and economic power and alleging coordination with the Trump administration.
The party has separately sought an investigation into possible US interference.
The campaign advertisement cited media reports concerning alleged links between Bolsonaro's political network and US conservative donor network Rockbridge, as well as a confidential Brazilian intelligence document reportedly warning of a heightened risk of foreign interference.
Éden Valadares, communications secretary of Lula's Workers' Party, said the campaign was aimed at alerting voters to what he described as an ideologically driven US effort.
He said the party did not expect the alleged effort to succeed but would continue to mobilise supporters.
Concerns over US influence have also been voiced by presidential candidate Renan Santos, who alleged that Washington was seeking favourable contracts involving rare earths.
Brazil will hold the first round of its presidential election on October 4. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates will take place on October 25.
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