Following Russian invasion, Lula’s party condemns … the U.S.?

The Workers’ Party’s Senate bench blamed the U.S. for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in a later deleted tweet on Thursday. “The Workers’ Party in the Senate condemns the U.S.’s long-term policy of aggression against Russia and of continuous expansion of NATO toward Russian borders,” the group wrote. 

“The U.S. doesn’t accept a strong Russia or China, poised to overtake them economically.” The account added that Russia “also broke” international law.

After a predictable backlash on social media, the post was deleted and the account instead retweeted posts from party members condemning acts of violence, including some made by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — the party’s leading figure and Brazil’s presidential frontrunner. 

The official statement of the Workers’ Party was certainly less controversial, but just as non-committal as one issued earlier by the Brazilian government. Without directly condemning Russia, the party said that “conflict resolution in international politics must always be sought through dialogue and not strength.”

This is not the first blunder the party has committed in recent months. Last year, it published a statement characterizing the Nicaraguan election as a “great display of popular and democratic demonstration.” In the months leading up to the election, incumbent President Daniel Ortega arrested dozens of opposition figures — including seven potential challengers.

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