President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil is capable of governing itself without foreign interference, and criticized local politicians who are encouraging “attacks” on the nation.

“We maintain friendly relations with all countries, but we do not accept orders from anyone,” Lula said in a televised speech on the eve of Independence Day. “Brazil has a single owner: the Brazilian people.”

Lula has accused Donald Trump of attempting to intervene in Brazilian affairs after the U.S. president demanded Brazil’s Supreme Court end a trial of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president who is facing charges that he attempted a coup after losing the 2022 election.

Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, has spent months in the U.S. lobbying it to target Brazil, and has continued pushing the Trump administration for additional pressure as his father’s legal woes deepen. Trump has already placed Magnitsky Act sanctions and revoked the U.S. visa of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is spearheading proceedings against the right-wing former leader.

In his remarks on Saturday, Lula said that it “is inadmissible, the role of some Brazilian politicians who encourage attacks on Brazil.”

“They are traitors to the country,” he said, without mentioning any names.

Lula reiterated the country’s Constitution establishes independence between the three powers, and that means the Brazilian president “cannot interfere in the decisions of the Brazilian justice system.”

He also defended the electronic payments system called Pix, included in an investigation led by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under Section 301.

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