In one of the most incisive actions so far by American congressmen against the coup demonstrations by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), deputies and senators delivered this Friday (9) a letter to Joe Biden in which they warn of the risk of a coup in the presidential election of October and accuse the Brazilian of threatening democratic institutions.
The delivery to the American comes two days after motions in defense of democracy in Brazil were presented in the House and Senate. The letter today is more incisive because for the first time it cites Bolsonaro and lists the president’s anti-democratic manifestations, while Wednesday’s motions (7) were more generic.
“We write to express our deep concern about the systematic attacks on the democratic institutions of the fourth largest democracy in the world,” the lawmakers say. The text is signed by 8 senators and 31 deputies, who ask Biden to make it clear that Brazil will lose support for joining the OECD and the status of a NATO ally, Bolsonaro’s demands.
The letter also cites the invasion of the Capitol, one of the most traumatic episodes in recent American history, by supporters of former President Donald Trump, who expressed support for Bolsonaro in this year’s election. “Having personally experienced the horrors of the January 6 insurrection, we are all well aware of the consequences that can occur when demagogues promote disinformation about the legitimacy and integrity of the electoral process, publicly attacking independent electoral authorities,” the text reads.
The letter was delivered two days after Bolsonaro used the events of the Bicentennial of Independence of Brazil as campaign acts, in which he maintained the coupist rhetoric, and is part of an international effort that considers that, without Washington’s support, a democratic rupture would have much more difficult to be carried out in Brazil.
“In light of these serious and all too familiar challenges to Brazilian democracy, the US has a duty, as Brazil’s longtime partner, to use all diplomatic tools and available help to denounce and deter actions that threaten to incite political violence in the country and undermine the integrity of the electoral process”, reads the text, led by Senator Patrick Leahy (Vermont), president pro tempore of the Senate, and Representative Susan Wild (Pennsylvania).
The letter is also signed by a number of expressive parliamentarians, such as deputy Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, a star of the US left, and deputy Jamie Raskin, who is investigating the invasion of the Capitol and has indicated that he may include Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the Brazilian president linked to the American right, in the investigation of the January 6 attack.
The American parliamentary movement gained strength after human rights organizations in Brazil met with lawmakers in late July, led by the Washington Brazil Office group, to warn the country’s authorities about the risks to Brazilian elections.
Parliamentarians say that the Brazilian electoral system, “recognized as one of the safest and most reliable electoral systems in the world”, is constantly attacked by the president. The text also mentions that candidates representing minorities are at risk and shows concern about the increase in the circulation of weapons in the country.
Another mention is a meeting that Bolsonaro promoted with ambassadors at the end of July, in which he lied about the security of the polls and repeated attacks on the Federal Supreme Court.
“Given the unprecedented threats to the elections, we urge you [Biden] to take additional steps to make it unequivocally clear to President Bolsonaro, his government and Brazilian security forces that Brazil will find itself isolated from the US and the international community if there is any attempt to subvert the country’s electoral process,” the letter states. .
“Your government must ensure that the Brazilian government understands that any such effort will have serious consequences, including future bilateral defense and security cooperation.”
More restrained than the Legislature, the US Executive has also been sending messages that it hopes that the result of the October election will be respected. On Wednesday night, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US is monitoring the elections and reinforced that Washington trusts Brazilian democratic institutions. Earlier, in a note to celebrate 200 years of Independence, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had highlighted the importance of commitment to democracy.
In July, after Bolsonaro summoned the ambassadors, Washington’s representation in BrasÃlia issued a statement in which it said it trusted the Brazilian electoral system, “a model for nations”. Days later, at a conference of defense ministers from the Americas, Secretary Lloyd J. Austin defended that the military forces must be “under firm civilian control”, without mentioning the Brazilian elections.
In the only meeting he has had with Biden so far, Bolsonaro would have asked for help to defeat the favorite in the polls, former president Lula (PT), according to the Bloomberg news agency. At the meeting in Los Angeles, the Brazilian repeated that he wanted “clean, reliable and auditable elections”; the American responded, according to the State Department, that “the US does not tolerate and does not accept intervention in the electoral system anywhere.”
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