Brazil’s electoral court authorizes Lula address on September 7

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will deliver a televised address on September 7 after Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court authorized the broadcast. Court president Kássio Nunes Marques ruled that the address served a public interest connected to the date’s historical and institutional significance.

The presidential communications office sought authorization because public institutional advertising by government officials is prohibited during the three months before elections. The law allows exceptions for cases involving a serious and urgent public need. Nunes Marques said the address showed no electoral intent or effort to promote the federal government.

The speech will last three minutes and 43 seconds. In the text submitted to the court, Lula will defend national sovereignty and refer to Brazil’s “wealth,” including critical minerals and oil in the Equatorial Margin. “We are not, and we will not be, anyone’s colony,” he will say.

Lula will also defend free trade and argue that no country can dictate to Brazil whom it may sell to or buy from. The statement is presented as a message to the United States, which has imposed two tariffs on Brazil, one of 25% and another of 12.5%.

The president will discuss the economy and call for Brazilians to achieve “financial independence.” Without directly mentioning the constitutional amendment proposal to end the six-day workweek with one day off, he will say people need more time for themselves and their families.

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We are not, and we will not be, anyone’s colony.