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WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives External Relations Committee on Wednesday approved a request from State Secretary Mike Pompeo to condemn some of the actions of the new Brazilian government in the area of human rights . According to committee chair Eliot L. Engel of New York, the decisions and positions announced by Jair Bolsonaro's government have hurt the LGBT community, indigenous groups and Afro-Brazilians.
In this letter, the commission – now under the command of a leftist deputy, who has sometimes signed petitions against the dismissal of former president Dilma Rousseff – urges Pompeo to censor the new government. Pompeo was Trump's representative in possession of Bolsonaro.
The text recalls episodes prior to the election campaign, as in 2013 when Bolsonaro had declared that he "was proud to be homophobic" and that he "preferred a dead son to a son homobadual". The document also criticizes the revision of the territorial boundaries of indigenous peoples and the transfer of the secretariat that deals with the subject to the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the text, this goes against American values, which have always defended human rights. The document states that the case was not discussed at the meeting between Pompeo and Bolsonaro in Brasilia on the 2nd. "We are therefore perplexed that after a meeting with President Bolsonaro, a transcript of the State Department "Reaffirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Brazil, rooted in our shared commitment to democracy, education, prosperity, security and human rights of the man. It's not clear that President Bolsonaro shares these values, "the statement said.
"If the Trump government is really committed to this partnership, we strongly suggest you not to hide the behavior of Bolsonaro, but to raise objections to these recent actions privately and publicly," the statement added.
"We are aware of the importance of working with partners in the Americas, such as Brazil, to promote human rights and democracy in Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba. the United States continues to defend nature, universal human rights, speaking when the rights of any marginalized group are compromised, "says the committee document, signed by six MPs.
The Bolsonaro government intends to maintain a special relationship with Washington. The new Brazilian Chancellor, Ernesto Araújo, said that "the sky is the limit" in bilateral relations, and Bolsonaro even offered Pompeo the possibility of an American military base in Brazil – a fact that was later denied by the Minister of Defense. The US government has welcomed the election of Bolsonaro and Trump congratulated the speech of the new Brazilian president in a Twitter message.
There is no prediction as to when Pompeo will respond to this letter. Asked about this communication late Wednesday afternoon, the Brazilian Embbady in Washington said it would make no comment, the letter not being intended for the Brazilian government. At a press conference held last week, Minister Araújo said that he had spoken to Pompeo about human rights and that the new government of Brasília would work for everyone.
Critics say the new leadership is making mistakes by focusing on Republican values and seeking a relationship with the Trump government only, not institutional action. MP Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of the president who visited the United States in November to build ties with the US government, even wore a hat that would defend Trump's reelection in 2020.
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