Rubio Says U.S. Will Keep Dealing With Lula, but Wants a Yes on Its Ambassador

PARIS — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration will keep dealing with Brazil’s authorities after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory over Flávio Bolsonaro, but tied any real progress to two open items: Brazil’s approval of the U.S. ambassador-designate and a fix for trade disagreements, Veja reported. Rubio spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a G7 meeting. Valor International headlined the remarks as Rubio saying the United States “will deal” with the Lula government.

According to Veja, Rubio named the agrément for Danny Perez, the American pick for Brasília, as the central demand. Agrément is the formal consent a host country gives before it accepts a foreign ambassador. Rubio called the absence of a U.S. ambassador in Brasília an unsustainable imbalance next to the presence of the Brazilian ambassador in Washington. He said he will keep direct contact with Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira whenever their agendas meet, as they did at the G7.

Why it matters

The two countries are the largest democracies in the hemisphere, and the embassy in Brasília is the channel through which Washington talks about trade, migration and security cooperation. An empty ambassador’s chair means those talks run through visits and side meetings instead of a resident envoy. For American businesses and for Brazilians living in the United States, the practical question is whether the trade disputes get a settlement or stay frozen while the nomination sits.

The record

What is documented: Rubio’s statements to the press in France, as reported by Veja and Valor, and the existence of the nomination of Danny Perez. What is not public in the sources we reviewed: whether Brasília has refused the nominee or simply not answered, and what the Lula regime’s reasons are. Veja’s article is behind a paywall and carries an AI-assisted summary, so the details here follow its published text. We could not retrieve the Diário do Poder report in full.

The way Rubio framed it is revealing. Washington is not isolating Brazil after the election, and it is not treating the result as a reason to pull back. It is asking for something small and concrete, a signature on one name. Under the Lula regime, which has its own fights over who sits in which chair, the ambassador’s agrément is now the thermometer of the relationship: if it comes, the dialogue Rubio promised has content, and if it does not, it is only a courtesy.

The Watch Post Daily will continue to follow this story. Sources: Veja; Valor International; Diário do Poder.

Featured image: Secretary Rubio at the Department of State by U.S. Department of State, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.