Across 11 Brazilian cities, left-wing social movements and unions protest US-imposed tariffs and sanctions, denouncing foreign intervention and affirming Brazil’s sovereignty amid growing imperialist pressures.

Related:

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Rejects U.S. Sanctions Amid Bolsonaro Coup Trial

On August 1, 2025, thousands of activists, workers, students, and leftist organizations mobilized in 11 cities throughout Brazil,including Brasília, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Recife,to denounce the recent tariffs imposed by the United States and the punitive sanction against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

The protests, marked by the symbolic burning of the American flag and an effigy of US President Donald Trump in front of the US embassy in the capital, express a collective rejection of neoliberal and imperialist aggressions that threaten Brazil’s political and economic sovereignty.

Voices from across the Brazilian left articulated the protests as a critical pushback against Washington’s continued interference in Global South nations. Matheus das Neves, treasurer of the National Union of Students (UNE), explained that these US policies are direct reprisals targeting Brazil’s efforts within the BRICS framework and broader multipolar alliances challenging US global hegemony.

He stressed that social movements have the historic responsibility to expose and resist these interventions, reaffirming that “the Brazilian people are the ones who rule in Brazil,” signaling popular sovereignty as a red line against foreign domination.

The text reads: Popular movements and Brazilian protesters gather in various cities across the country to protest against tariffs imposed by the United States

The protests also amplified demands beyond anti-imperialist resistance, addressing internal inequities like the taxation of the super-rich and opposing regressive labor reforms such as the rollback of the 6-for-1 employment scheme.

Washington Domingues Neves, leader of the Single Union of Workers of the Federal District (CUT-DF), criticized local politicians complicit in advancing economic policies harmful to the working class, linking them to foreign interests undermining Brazil’s welfare and sovereignty.

Protesters further condemned the proposed environmental deregulation bill (PL Devastation) and called for an end to Brazil’s trade and diplomatic relations with Israel, framing these positions within a broader agenda for justice, self-determination, and resistance to imperialist and neoliberal agendas.

IN THIS ARTICLE