A group of eight American senators sent a letter to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, in which they accuse the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) of being responsible for the destruction in the Amazon, with “an epidemic of deforestation and fires”, and of placing democracy at risk.
Congressmen urge that the opportunity to nominate a new US ambassador to Brazil be used to bring about change. “The appointment should reflect a clear reconfiguration [“clear reset”, no original] of the relationship between the two countries,” the democrats point out.
The US representation in Brasilia has been without an ambassador since July, when Todd Chapman retired. Currently, the embassy is headed by Douglas Koneff. There is no scheduled date for the nomination of a new name for the post, which needs to be approved by the US Senate.
The letter, to which the sheet had access, was sent on Wednesday (1) and is signed by eight Democratic senators, including Patrick Leahy, 81, who serves as temporary president of the Senate, responsible for running the sessions in the absence of the President of the House, the vice president Kamala Harris.
In addition, Benjamin Cardin and Chris van Hollen, both from Maryland, Edward Markey, from Massachusetts, Jeanne Shaheen, from New Hampshire, Jeffrey Merkley and Sherrod Brown, both from Ohio, and Thomas Carper, from Delaware, sign the document.
“We are writing to express our deep concern about the downward trajectory of democracy, human rights and environmental protection in Brazil”, begins the message.
“As a distraction from the real problems faced by the Brazilian people, such as rising unemployment, inflation and more than 600,000 deaths by Covid, Bolsonaro has launched a disinformation campaign that seeks to actively attack specific members of the Supreme Court,” they continued.
In recent months, Bolsonaro has eased the questioning of the Brazilian electoral system, an offshoot of the criticism he received after the September 7 acts, as the stance at that time raised fears of a coup. Senators acknowledge the change, but assess that “the sudden recognition of the credibility of the voting system cannot be taken at face value.”
On environmental issues, the document points out that the Brazilian leader “has been enthusiastically promoting policies that are extremely harmful to the environment”. “Indigenous territories are under attack from miners, loggers and official infrastructure projects such as roads, dams and railways. A package of new laws defended by legislators aligned with Bolsonaro will reduce the protection of indigenous lands and conservation areas”, they say the congressmen.
“The epidemic of deforestation and fires, not only in the Amazon, but in the Pantanal and the Cerrado, is a direct result of Bolsonaro’s words and actions”, consider the senators.
In recent months, letters criticizing the Bolsonaro government have been sent by Democrats to the Biden administration. In September, for example, Bob Menendez and three other deputies sent a message to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warning of the deterioration of democracy in Brazil and asking Biden to make clear that “any democratic rupture will have serious consequences”.
In October, more than 60 lawmakers sent another letter to the White House asking for a retreat in relations between the two countries until a new Brazilian leader was elected. They defend that the US stop supporting Brazil on issues such as the country’s entry into the OECD (Organization for Cooperation for Economic Development), something that could bring commercial advantages to Brazilians.
“We cannot set a precedent whereby a country whose president is accused of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court will be able to join increasingly important international organizations. Not without accountability, transparency and reform,” the deputy said in October Democrat Hank Johnson, one of the authors of the October letter.
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