There are fears that the current head of state, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who questions the reliability of the electronic voting system, may follow the example of former US President Donald Trump, refuse to recognize his defeat and incite riots.
US diplomats have assured former centre-left president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a big favorite in Brazil’s October presidential election according to opinion polls, that they will immediately recognize the winner to prevent any attempt to challenge the result or create chaos after the vote, sources in Reuters news agency.
A week or so before the first round of elections is held on October 2, fears continue to be raised that the current head of state, far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who has questioned the reliability of the electronic voting system in Latin America’s largest country, may emulate the example of former US President Donald Trump, to refuse to recognize his defeat and incite riots.
One of the sources, who asked not to be named because of the confidential nature of the talks, said Lula told Douglas Koneff, the US ambassador to Brazil, that Washington should recognize the winner of the election as soon as possible, either in the first round or — if it needs to be held — in the second, on October 30.
The answer given to the former trade unionist is that the government intends to immediately recognize the result of the election whoever wins, to reduce any possibility of it being contested and political instability, the same source added.
Celso Amorim, Lula’s top foreign policy adviser, received similar assurances from diplomats in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to another source. A third source noted that many European countries also intend to immediately recognize the result of the election.
When asked for comment, a State Department spokesman declined to comment directly on Lula’s meeting with U.S. Ambassador Konev, adding that contacts with candidates “do not imply support for any person, party or platform.” He added that American diplomacy “believes in the strength of Brazil’s democratic institutions.”
Joe Biden’s US administration, haunted by an attack by supporters of Mr Trump on the federal Capitol on January 6, 2021, is increasingly concerned about Mr Bolsonaro’s unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud and has sent a high-level delegation to Brasilia to question him. urges commitment to democratic norms. In March, Reuters reported that CIA Director William Burns told Brazilian officials that Jair Bolsonaro should stop challenging the electronic voting system.
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