Socialist Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva welcomed his Panamanian counterpart José Raúl Mulino on Thursday to sign several bilateral agreement and support Panama’s control of the Panama Canal.
Lula announced that Brazil would sign onto the 1977 Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, joining another 140 countries — a loaded move following comments by President Donald Trump suggesting that Panama should restore the canal to American control. The Trump administration has repeatedly protested that the Panamanian government has allowed communist China too much influence in the operation of the canal and compromised its neutrality, potentially triggering a violation of the agreement that granted the country rights to control the canal during the administration of former President Jimmy Carter.
Lula’s sudden interest in staking a position against American influence in the Panama Canal, which the United States built, follows a series of poor diplomatic decisions that have brought Brazilian-American relations to arguably their lowest point in history. President Trump has condemned Lula’s administration repeatedly for censoring and imprisoning conservative voices in the country and, in July, declared Brazil a national security threat to the United States for its flagrant violations of civil rights. The declaration also imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods entering America and established sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, one of the most powerful justices on Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) who has led efforts to persecute conservatives in the country.
Lula has refused to speak directly to Trump on the matter, instead reaching out to Beijing and brokering support from China. Brazil and China are linked through membership in BRICS, an anti-American security and economic organization also including some of America’s most ardent geopolitical enemies, including Iran and Russia.
Mulino and Lula enjoyed a friendly meeting in Brasilia on Thursday in which the two agreed to sign several deals to expand trade potential, cooperate on environmental issues, and support each other diplomatically.
“Brazil fully supports Panama’s sovereignty over the Canal, conquered after decades of struggle,” Lula said during the exchange. “Panamá has been managing this maritime corridor for over 25 years with efficiency and respect to neutrality, ensuring safe passage to ships from all places. For this reason, we have decided to join the treaty regarding the permanent neutrality and operation of the Panama Canal, which has already been signed by more than 140 countries.”
The treaty in question effectively commands that no country exercise full sovereignty or influence on the Panama Canal and was a requirement for the Carter administration in handing the engineering feat over to Panama.
Mulino’s visit was notable as no Panamanian president had traveled to Brazil since 2008, according to the Brazilian presidential office, Planalto.
“The arrival of President Mulino to Brazil is the rekindling of a new relationship between Brazil and Panama,” Lula celebrated in his remarks during the meeting. “Today, we will expand ties of cooperation and friendship between two democratic, multicultural countries responsible for rich biodiversity.”
“We reaffirm our commitment to multilateralism, sustainable development, and regional integration,” Lula was quoted as saying.
Mulino explained his presence in the country by stating, “No country exists, nor can it ever exist, that does not depend on others.”
Addressing the Canal situation, Lula claimed that Panama “conquered [it] after decades of struggle,” an oversell of diplomatic negotiations with the United States that resulted in a friendly agreement. Mulino appeared to rebut the talk of “conquest” and “struggle” by stating, “It was the struggle of a century that was achieved through a negotiation in which both parts made an effort.” Lula also complimented Panama for “administering the maritime corridor with efficiency and respect to neutrality,” a challenge to the Trump administration’s concerns that the Panamanian government had offered too many concessions to Beijing.
Brazil and Panama also signed an agreement for cooperation between the Panama Canal Authority, which governs the maritime passage, and Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports, according to the Panamanian government. The memorandum of understanding would reportedly help shipping and transport communication between the countries.
Mulino’s relationship to Washington has faced some challenges since Trump returned to the White House, as the latter has suggested that the Panama Canal should have never left American control. The comments appeared to take Mulino — who had enthusiastically and frustratedly called for better cooperation on illegal immigration from former American President Joe Biden — by surprise.
“Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama; we didn’t give it to China. And they’ve abused it. They’ve abused that gift,” Trump said in January, shortly before his inauguration.
During his confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed with the sentiment that China had become too influential in the Panama Canal region, indicating that Panama may have violated the provisions in the treaty that granted it control over the canal in its dealings with China. These dealings occurred before Mulino, a conservative, was elected.
“I’m compelled to respect that an argument could be made that the terms under which that canal were turned over have been violated,” Rubio said in February, “because, while technically, sovereignty over the canal has not been turned over to a foreign power, in reality, a foreign power possesses it through their companies.”
Rubio visited the country as part of his first international tour as secretary of state. Mulino announced shortly thereafter that Panama would leave the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a Chinese government scheme to impoverish poor states by saddling them with unsustainable debt.
Brazil becoming more vocal in Panama Canal affairs follows Lula making loud overtures to the Chinese Communist Party throughout the past month, as his administration faces growing pressure to respect the human rights of conservatives in the country. Asked in early August if he would call President Trump to negotiate an end to the onerous American sanctions on his country, Lula refused.
“I will call Xi Jinping, I will call [Indian] Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi. I won’t call [Vladimir] Putin because Putin can’t travel,” Lula insisted.
Lula ultimately did call Xi in mid-August. The dictator told Lula he would help Brazil in “defending national sovereignty” and fighting the tariffs, according to Chinese state media.
“Xi also said that China backs the Brazilian people in defending their national sovereignty and supports Brazil in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests,” the Xinhua News Agency reported, “urging all countries to unite in resolutely fighting against unilateralism and protectionism.”
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