MEXICO CITY

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Thursday for his continued rows with countries and the toll the American leader could have on global democracy.

The Brazilian president spoke about the global stage for the past month since Trump took office for his second term as president, during an interview for a local radio station.

"I sincerely hope that President Trump will take into account that the sovereignty of each country must be respected. That means strengthening democracy. The democracy won after the Second World War is a parameter and an event of the best governance we've had in the last 70 years, and that's good to continue. Now, the way he's doing it, he's trying to become an emperor of the world," he said.

Lula, who has had a direct encounter with the most radical conservative political forces in Brazil, expressed concern about the path of the US under Trump, who the Brazilian president said is employing the "usual strategy of the extreme right -- speaking every day, every hour, without measuring the consequences of his speech."

"What I've been hearing and seeing on the radio and in the written and spoken press and also on the internet are the rants of President Trump who wants to take over Canada, has called the prime minister a governor, wants to take over Greenland, wants to take over the Panama Canal, has changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America? He was elected President of the US, not President of the world," he added.

According to Lula, he has not yet talked with Trump other than the diplomatic congratulatory message he sent via social media during his swearing-in ceremony Jan. 20.

However, Trump has also drawn concerns from Brazil as a US global 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel directly affect Brazilian exports. Yet, Lula's government has tried to de-escalate diplomatic and commercial frictions and favor negotiations over confrontation.