Brazil votes for its next president on Sunday: How is Trump a major player in election?

Nearly 160 million Brazilians are eligible to vote for their next president on Sunday, but one of the biggest names influencing the election will not appear anywhere on the ballot: Donald Trump.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is seeking another term, with Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, emerging as his main challenger.

Twelve candidates are running, but Lula and Bolsonaro have dominated the race. If nobody receives more than 50% of the vote, the two leading candidates will head to a runoff on October 25.

So where does Trump come in?

His relationship with the Bolsonaro family has helped turn Washington into an unusually prominent issue in the Brazilian campaign.

Trump has long been an ally of Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence after being convicted over a coup plot following his 2022 election defeat.

Last year, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, citing, among other issues, Brazil's prosecution of the former president.

Lula accused Washington of trying to interfere in Brazil's affairs. Flavio Bolsonaro, meanwhile, has embraced his family's ties with Trump.

The 45-year-old senator visited the White House and State Department during his presidential campaign and has presented a closer relationship with Washington as part of his foreign policy pitch. Lula has taken almost the opposite approach, repeatedly invoking Brazilian sovereignty and warning Trump against interfering in the election.

Asked about Brazil's election on Friday, the US president said Washington was “watching that election very closely.” The comment came as the US temporarily suspended consular services in Brazil over security concerns just two days before voting.

Brazilian police carried out searches linked to suspected threats against US diplomatic sites, although authorities said they had found no evidence of a threat at the time.