Lula’s Top Diplomat Warns US Over Monroe Doctrine Video Citing ‘American Dominance’

A video published by the U.S. State Department explicitly claiming that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again" has triggered a sharp diplomatic warning from Brasília, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s chief foreign policy advisor stating the message is an implicit threat to Brazil’s sovereignty. Celso Amorim, a two-time former foreign minister and now President Lula’s top international advisor, told a congressional committee on Wednesday that the U.S. government’s use of the Monroe Doctrine in the video "relativizes the sovereignty of Latin American countries in general, including, of course, Brazil." The social media post, released on Tuesday, marks a significant diplomatic escalation, reviving a 19th-century U.S. foreign policy that nations across South America have traditionally viewed as a justification for military and political intervention.

The State Department video, which connects the 1823 doctrine to current U.S. actions in the region, including the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, directly challenges Brazil’s core foreign policy goal of achieving "strategic autonomy" and defending a multipolar world order. For an international audience, the Monroe Doctrine, first declared by President James Monroe, established that European powers should not interfere in the Americas. However, over two centuries, it evolved into a framework for asserting U.S. hegemony, a legacy that runs counter to the vision championed by President Lula da Silva of greater regional independence and non-alignment. The move comes amid rising geopolitical competition, particularly as Brazil works to strengthen ties with China and the BRICS bloc, a strategy seen by many in Washington as an affront to U.S. strategic interests.

Amorim, a respected figure in Brazilian diplomacy, argued that the video, which touts the expansionist policy as a guide for present-day affairs, attempts to subordinate Latin America to U.S. interests. He reiterated Lula’s firm stance that Brazil will not accept unilateral measures used as a pretext to "relativize national sovereignty or impose economic restrictions" on the country. The former Foreign Minister’s intervention makes it clear that Brasília sees the video as part of a pattern of increased U.S. pressure on its foreign policy positions.

The dispute has also surfaced in a separate, but related, diplomatic move concerning personnel. Amorim revealed that Brazil has decided to withhold granting diplomatic visas to foreign representatives from any country until October, an action taken to safeguard upcoming elections from perceived foreign meddling. He noted the United States has been without an ambassador in Brasília for over 18 months and now, with the election approaching, is attempting to accredit a new ambassador "in a hurry without our consent." The combination of the explicit assertion of dominance via the Monroe Doctrine video and the dispute over diplomatic accreditation signals a cooling of relations between the two largest economies in the Americas.

What to watch next: The most immediate barometer for the depth of the diplomatic escalation will be whether the U.S. government attempts to formally reply to Celso Amorim’s direct warning and whether President Lula da Silva, who has been vocal about Brazil’s non-aligned stance on global issues, comments on the video directly. A further test will come in October, when Brazil is due to lift its temporary suspension of diplomatic visas.