A day after confirming that he will attend the ninth edition of the Summit of the Americas, a meeting that brings together leaders from the continent in early June, in Los Angeles, President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Friday (27) that he accepted the invitation of the US government after being assured that the bilateral meeting with Joe Biden will be at least 30 minutes long. “I had three hours with [Vladimir] Putin,” he said.
“I would never go there to frame a photograph. Do you have a bilateral audience of at least 30 minutes with him? I had three hours with Putin. The answer was yes. President Donald Trump to continue this policy.”
Bolsonaro’s statement was given in Goiânia, during the National Convention of the Assemblies of God of the Madureira Ministry, which brings together leaders of this evangelical segment from all over Brazil in the city.
Bolsonaro arrived at the scene after participating in a motorcycle that left the old airport in Goiânia towards the church. Wearing a suit and helmet, he rode a motorcycle, carrying on his back the federal deputy and PL pre-candidate for the government of Goiás, Major Vitor Hugo, who was not wearing safety equipment.
The Brazilian president received on Tuesday (24) an emissary from the US government, former senator Christopher Dodd, who traveled to BrasÃlia with the mission of convincing the Brazilian Chief Executive to participate in the Summit of the Americas. Bolsonaro had signaled that he could miss the summit, which raised fears that the meeting would be empty – the leader of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also signaled that he does not intend to attend if the leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are not invited.
The invitation to a meeting with the Democrat on the sidelines of the summit was thus a US tactic to convince Bolsonaro to participate in the event. This Friday, the Brazilian leader said that the meeting with Biden is “for the good of both peoples” and that he is the president who most respects and admires Americans.
“We can’t continue like this,” he said, referring to the scuffles with the Democrat, which involve criticism of deforestation in the Amazon and Bolsonaro’s questioning of the electoral system. “Just as I am treated well by the president and prime minister of Israel, an example country for us.”
On Thursday (26), Bolsonaro said that, at the G20 meeting last year, held in Rome, Biden treated him as if he “didn’t exist”. “When Biden came in, for my part, I didn’t change policy with him. I met him at the G20, it went on as if I didn’t exist. It was his treatment of everyone, I don’t know if it’s age.” Biden is 79 years old and Bolsonaro is 67.
The 9th edition of the Summit of the Americas was designed by Washington to symbolize the return of US leadership in Latin American affairs. In 2018, former President Donald Trump became the first American leader to miss the event.
At Itamaraty, diplomats see the risk of emptying the summit as an opportunity that should not be missed. After months of friction between the US and Brazilian governments, for the first time the American finds himself in a difficult situation in which he needs Bolsonaro’s collaboration. According to interlocutors, the Brazilian president is in a position where he can demand gestures from the Americans.
The meeting with the American president is also desired by members of the Planalto to reinforce the argument that Brazil is not really isolated internationally.
Before, the Brazilian leader was reluctant to leave the country due to the domestic scenario. In a pre-campaign for reelection, he told allies that the priority in the coming months is the domestic agenda.
In 2020, Bolsonaro was one of the last leaders to greet Biden after the presidential elections and, in several statements, cast doubt on his victory, endorsing accusations without any basis in reality made by Trump, of whom he is an ally, that there had been fraud in the claim.
