The Donald Trump Administration announced that it is suspending the operation of the consulate in Brasilia after pointing out "security reasons", amid complaints from the campaign of the president and re-election candidate, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for alleged interference from Washington. Meanwhile, the last televised debate between the main candidates for the Presidency – Lula and the far-right Flávio Bolsonaro – was canceled after the refusal of both to participate and in the face of a series of judicial decisions that restricted the meeting.
First modification: 10/02/2026 - 19:46 Last modification: 10/02/2026 - 20:19
Consular services at the United States Embassy in the Brazilian capital were suspended "for security reasons" as of this Friday, October 2, two days before the presidential elections between the current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the far-right Flávio Bolsonaro, according to the Donald Trump Administration.
The diplomatic headquarters recommended that US citizens who are in the Latin American nation not go to its facilities even in cases of emergency and urged them to contact them by telephone only in case of urgency.
Neither the diplomatic headquarters nor the State Department offered more details about the security problems or linked them to Sunday's elections. "We are working closely with our Brazilian counterparts to address security concerns," a department spokesperson said in an email on Friday cited by the Reuters news agency.
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The Australian consular service also joined the measure and suspended consular services as of October 2, according to a message in which it cites Washington's concerns for security reasons.
Read alsoBrazil: Lula widens his lead over Bolsonaro in first round polls; there would be a technical tie in a runoff
White House interference?
Brazilian intelligence officials consulted by Reuters reported that the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) warned French and German delegations traveling to Brasilia in late September about alleged US and Russian interference ahead of the Brazilian elections.
The visit of European officials highlighted growing concern on both sides of the Atlantic over US President Donald Trump's efforts to support like-minded candidates in Latin America and Europe.
The Attorney General of the Union of Brazil (AGU) requested on Thursday, October 1, a formal investigation of the Federal Police and the Attorney General's Office of the Republic for alleged interference by the United States in the elections.
The investigation will be based on a report published by the British newspaper 'The Guardian', which indicates that the US State Department had given one million dollars to groups to denounce censorship and illegal practices allegedly committed by the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
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The Brazilian president, who is staking his re-election in the October 4 elections, has insisted on his suspicions of possible electoral interference by the Trump Government, an ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro, whose first-born son, Flávio Bolsonaro, is the main opposition candidate.
In fact, the suspension of consular services is not the first diplomatic blow by the White House leader in Brazil, since, at the beginning of August, the US withdrew the visa of the Brazilian ambassador in Washington.
In parallel, Trump has imposed tariffs against a good part of Brazilian exports to that country, which Lula da Silva interprets as an attempt to weaken him before the election.
Security has been an issue that has confronted Trump with Lula, while evidencing the harmony between the American leader and Bolsonaro, as was evident after the State Department classified the Brazilian drug trafficking gangs Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho as terrorist organizations.
The gesture was applauded by Bolsonaro and criticized by Lula's government, which fears that this measure could support a US military intervention.
More than 150 million Brazilians are eligible to vote on Sunday to elect a president, in elections that will determine whether Latin America's largest nation ratifies the region's shift to the right or charts its own course, after right-wing leaders recently triumphed in Colombia, Peru or Chile.
Read alsoTurn to the right in Latin America: change of cycle or punishment vote?
Stand-up at the last televised debate
The last opportunity that Brazilian voters had to hear the proposals of the main candidates for the Presidency before the elections disappeared on Thursday, October 1, due to the rejection of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the main opposition candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, in addition to an unexpected intervention by Justice.
The first to give up was Lula himself, on Wednesday, who chose to give an interview at the same time on the popular 'Flow' podcast. The progressive president justified his decision by defining the meeting between candidates as "unfruitful" and alluding to the "little jokes" that occur between minor rivals.
Lula, who leads the main polls, has avoided sharing the stage with the other candidates, mostly from the right, who could focus their attacks on him.
At the same time, a flurry of unprecedented court rulings forced the Globo television channel to cancel the debate a few hours after its broadcast.
Two hours before the appointment, Flávio Bolsonaro gave up going to the Globo studios in Rio de Janeiro after condemning "the shameful censorship" imposed by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
The decision that motivated Bolsonaro's refusal was the ruling of Judge Estela Aranha, nominated last year by Lula to occupy a seat on the TSE, who prohibited Globo from displaying Lula's empty lectern during the broadcast of the debate, as stated in the rules previously agreed between the station and the candidates in the event of an absence.
The decision, taken urgently and in response to a resource from Lula's campaign, also prohibited the other candidates for the Presidency from asking questions directed to the head of state, even if he was absent.
The judge alleged a "potential imbalance" that would harm the historical leader of the Workers' Party (PT) and highlighted the "optional" nature of participating in the debates.
Almost at the same time, a Supreme Court judge ordered the inclusion in the debate of the ultra agitator Renan Santos, standard bearer of the Mission party, who had not been invited by Globo under the protection of current legislation.
Read alsoBrazil: will Lula continue or will Bolsonarism return?
Allegations of judicial censorship
After announcing the cancellation of the debate, Globo condemned the "legal uncertainty" generated by the successive decisions of Justice prior to the debate, which it interpreted as "an undue interference in the freedom of the media" to organize this type of meeting.
The main press associations also expressed "their deep indignation" at the "interference" and "aggression" of Justice.
In response, Flávio Bolsonaro, whom polls place very close to Lula da Silva in voting intentions, improvised a discussion with his allies on social networks, in which he criticized Justice and accused his rival of "running away from the debate."
"Lula not only does not go to the debate, but he uses his friends in the judiciary to impose censorship on TV Globo. It is sad and outrageous," said the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party (PL), who asked voters for "their vote of indignation" to "resolve" the elections in the first round given "the seriousness of what is happening."
Flávio Bolsonaro's live broadcast reached audience peaks of more than 900,000 viewers at midnight, while Lula's interview reached 1.6 million simultaneous users.
Read alsoLula vs. Bolsonaro, with the Supreme Court on fire: Brazil sharpens the dispute one month before the presidential elections
With EFE, Reuters, AP and local media
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