Brazil’s President Lula said today that he hopes to have “as civilized as possible” a US presidential election after the departure of outgoing President Joe Biden, and that “nothing jeopardizes the symbol of democracy”.

“Since President Biden made his decision, my role is to hope that (Democrats) choose a candidate for the election and that the best one wins,” said Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, during an interview he gave to international news agencies, including Agence France-Presse.

“Whether it is a Democratic candidate or Trump, we will have a civilized relationship of two important countries (…). We have long-standing diplomatic relations, strategic partnerships with the United States and we want to maintain them,” Lula stressed.

“I hope that (the elections) will be as civilized as possible, that nothing will endanger the symbol of democracy,” he underlined.

“I like Biden very much, I respect him a lot,” said the left-wing Brazilian president, mainly taking exception to the American president’s speeches “in defense of workers.”

“He said things that if said in another country would have called him a communist, because he literally said that the ones who produce the wealth of the United States are the workers, not the businessmen,” Lula commented.

He recalled that he signed a bilateral agreement with Biden in September 2023 for a partnership aimed at promoting decent working conditions.