This week, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was supposed to cement his status as the preeminent leader of the developing world.
Instead, the chaotic Group of 20 summit he hosted in Rio de Janeiro highlighted his inability to bridge growing divisions between global superpowers. Gaffes at the hands of the Brazilian government marred the meetings that many called the most disorganized G20 in recent memory.
Brazil watchers may now remember the gathering as the start of a far more difficult phase of Lula’s presidency: Donald Trump is returning to the White House and promising to upend trade with China, Brazil’s biggest economic partner, just as investors are growing worried about Lula’s spending.