Bad Bunny’s ‘LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii’ Soundtracks Brazil President Lula’s New Campaign Ad

Bad Bunny is one of the most outspoken Latine artists, often using his music and platform to celebrate Puerto Rican culture while highlighting life’s realities on the island. His hit “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” has become a fan favorite for its themes of displacement, cultural loss, and colonialism. Now, he’s cleared Brazil’s Lula to use the song in the president’s latest campaign ad.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s new ad, released on Wednesday, September 23, features a Portuguese version of Benito’s hit. Its main message: Brazilians should decide Brazil’s present and future—not international pressures. Lula can even be heard saying, “O Brasil tem um único dono: o povo Brasilieiro,” which translates to “Brazil has only one owner: the Brazilian people.”

Throughout his second term, Lula da Silva has worked to defend Brazil’s sovereignty and national resources in the face of foreign interference, particularly from the U.S. Over the past couple of years, tensions have been brewing between the two countries, with the Trump administration imposing tariffs on Brazilian goods and inviting Lula’s opponent, Flavio Bolsonaro, to the Oval Office.

Just recently, at the UN General Assembly in New York, Lula criticized foreign interference in Latin American countries like Brazil without directly mentioning the U.S. In a speech, he said: “Brazil doesn’t belong in anyone’s backyard.”

We weren’t expecting this Lula-and-Bad Bunny crossover. Still, it’s interesting to see how Benito’s “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” is influencing Latin American politics and debates over Brazil’s sovereignty.