Bolsonaro does not greet Biden | Opinion

From Brasilia

Muted. I have r Bolsonaro hasn’t spoken about Joe Biden’s victory in US election so far, luckily received by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who above all celebrated the defeat of Donald Trump.

“The world breathes relief with Biden’s victory, at this important moment when the American people have demonstrated against Trumpism and what it represents for its attacks on human rights and the assaults on our beloved America Latin, “said the first. president of PT. His partner, Dilma Rousseff underlined that the result is “an encouragement for those who fight against the extreme right”.

Lula and Dilma were both more adamant in defeating Trump – of whom Bolsonaro is an emulator – than in praising Biden, who, as North America’s vice president, traveled to Brazil in 2016 to support the coup that overthrew the then president.

Contrary to its usual verbiage Bolsonaro, who usually makes two or three statements a day, did not speak until 4 p.m. on Sunday on the result. elections reported by CNN Brazil on Saturday at 1:20 p.m.

On the other hand, last week he did not let a day go by without talking about the elections: he expressed his support for Trump’s candidacy, his opposition to Biden and he slipped suspicions about possible irregularities in the counting of votes. voice, a speculation expressed with all the letters of his son, the deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, who was entrusted with the role of activist in favor of the re-election of the republican president.

But since Saturday Bolsonaro called for silence: not a word on the new political map in Washington. This silence portrayed his isolation from other leaders in the region with diverse political backgrounds, such as Alberto Fernández, Uruguayan Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou, Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro and Sebastián Piñera from Chile. Everyone greeted Biden, without blessing his administration.

The former army captain has become a global curiosity even within the far-right ‘dream team’ as even UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Hungarian President Viktor Orbán praised the former vice-president Obama.

In Brasilia, there is speculation about how diplomatic relations will be with the future Democratic administration and the reasons for the stubborn silence.

A sensitive subject will be Amazonia. The future Biden administration and Afro-descendant Vice President Kamala Harris could end the forest devastation perpetrated by the Brazilian regime. The Democrat raised the issue during one of the election debates with Trump, angering Bolsonaro who accused him of “interfering” in domestic politics and threatening Brazilian sovereignty.

In general, we don’t bet on conservative Biden taking downright disruptive positions with Brasilia. Yes, it is considered plausible that the current US-Brazil alliance at the UN is sinking into the gender and human rights agenda.

Parliamentary sources told this newspaper that the president is facing pressure from the military, it is not known if this represents the entire armed forces, so he behaves with a minimum of pragmatism and sends a telegram to the future tenant of the White House because with him Over the days, this silence becomes more and more painful.

A similar position is held by a sector of the diplomatic corps for which it is appropriate to behave realistically in the face of Biden’s victory, even if the election result is pursued by Trump.

“Pragmatism” and “realism” are two expressions repeated in the Legislative Palaces and the Itamaraty (Chancellery), separated by an avenue in the center of Brasilia.

In the conservative field, former President Michel Temer, protagonist of the 2016 coup and ally of Bolsonaro, “congratulated” his “friend Joe Biden” on Saturday afternoon, more or less at the same time as the former Justice Ministry. , Sergio Moro, architect of the Lava Jato cause. Moro was a key partner of Bolsonaro with whom he broke off relations last April when he stepped down from his cabinet post. The former judge expresses to a sector which is looking for a conservative replacement, presumed to be Bolonarian, but with military support, the presidential elections of 2022.

These Brazilian elections are on everyone’s mind, including that of Bolsonaro, who by calling for silence and questioning the North American vote count, paves the way for a future fraud complaint if defeated. within two years. Strictly two years ago, the ex-serviceman threatened to ignore the elections that led him to the presidency if they did not give him the winner: he was anticipating Trump.