RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a message sent Wednesday, October 20 to Democratic Representative from Georgia Hank Johnson, Forster said that the congressmen’s letter “contains misinformation, distortions and untruths about Brazil that demand rectification.” In over four pages, he tries to deconstruct the Democrat’s complaints.
The October 14 letter, signed by 64 congressmen, cites “human rights violations, attacks on democracy and the environment occurring in Brazil” and calls for Biden to rescind the extra-NATO preferred ally designation granted to Brazil during the Trump administration; to withdraw the offer of support for the country to become a global partner of NATO (the Western military alliance); and to review other cooperation programs between the two nations.
The ambassador says that the Democrats’ letter “does not mention a single example of the purported ‘threats’ because these simply do not exist.” According to him, Brazilian democracy has a vibrant political debate.
Forster also states that sending the message to Biden “in no way contributes to the friendship and cooperation between Brazil and the U.S., particularly in the area of Defense – whose roots go back to the common struggle of our troops to defeat Nazism and fascism in World War II.”
According to the ambassador, the congressmen propose in the text “a worldview that struggles to deal with political differences and the facts.”
The U.S. congressmen’s letter also cited Bolsonaro’s support for challenging Biden’s victory in the 2020 U.S. election by backing Donald Trump’s misrepresentations about fraud, saying that this would be an indication to question his willingness to accept the results of the Brazilian election in 2022.
“Bolsonaro’s son […] was present at events linked to ‘Stop the Steal’ on January 6 in Washington,” the lawmakers say, in reference to the fact that Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro on January 5 attended a meeting with entrepreneur Mike Lindell, sponsor of the campaign to challenge the election results that would lead to the storming of Capitol Hill.
The U.S. congressmen’s letter is part of a context of pressure from activists and progressive groups in the Democratic Party.
Finally, the Brazilian ambassador argues that the mention of insults made by Bolsonaro against blacks, indigenous people, and the LGBTQIA+ population refer to “out-of-context statements” made when the President was still a deputy. According to Forster, the current government has taken measures to support these groups.
The ambassador further says that Brazil remains committed to improving its environmental indicators and highlights the population’s vaccination rates against Covid-19.
AMBASSADOR NESTOR FORSTER’S FULL LETTER
Washington, October 20, 2021
Dear Congressman Johnson
I was surprised by your letter dated October 14 to President Joe Biden, also signed by other members of Congress, which unfortunately contains misinformation, distortions, and untruths about Brazil that demand rectification.
The letter does not reflect the enduring friendship, founded on mutual respect, that characterizes the relations between Brazil and the United States, nor does it encourage constructive dialogue, which the embassy has sought to undertake with representatives of both political parties in Congress.
Allow me to highlight the most salient problems in the first two paragraphs of the letter alone, and offer fact-based corrections.
“We write to express our deep concern about policies that President Jair Bolsonaro has been pursuing in Brazil that threaten the rule of law, human rights, public health, and the environment.”
The letter does not mention a single example of the purported “threats” because these simply do not exist. For 28 years, President Jair Bolsonaro has been successively re-elected as a member of Congress. His election in October 2018, with 57.7 million votes (55% of valid votes), was a clear sign of repudiation of corruption and statism that made it possible.
The Brazilian people and our institutions have unequivocally expressed their support for democratic and transparent governance. Brazil continues to live in a constitutional order founded on the rule of law, the separation of powers, and due legal process.
“We urge you to send a clear message to the Bolsonaro administration that should President Bolsonaro’s attacks on the electoral process persist, U.S.-Brazilian relations will be severely compromised.”
Political debate in Brazil, as in any great democracy, occurs within a robust institutional framework, under the auspices of a dynamic civil society that enjoys extensive constitutional safeguards.
“Bolsonaro’s mandate has been marked by anti-democratic policies from the beginning. He is among the leading examples of the global trend toward authoritarian and illiberal politics.”
This is untrue. President Bolsonaro has never implemented any “anti-democratic policies.” In fact, with 33 political parties, a free press, and vibrant political debate, Brazil is and will continue to be one of the freest countries in the world. Far from practicing an “illiberal policy,” President Bolsonaro has strengthened Operation Acolhida, which is internationally recognized and has already assisted half a million Venezuelans. Brazil has also welcomed Haitian, Afghan and Syrian citizens, according to humanitarian criteria.
Unfortunately, other countries in the hemisphere -including one of the oldest military dictatorships in the world- are de facto examples of authoritarian rule.
“His campaign was marked by hateful insults against Afro-Brazilians, indigenous peoples, LGBTQIA+ people, and unions, and praise for the brutal military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Once in power, Bolsonaro carried out a series of policies that endangered vulnerable minority groups, created historic unemployment rates, affected the environment, threatened Brazil’s relatively young democracy, and led to the unnecessary deaths, by Covid-19, of hundreds of thousands of people.”
The only basis for such claims, mentioned in a footnote, is a controversial opinion “website” that cites out-of-context statements, some from almost 30 years ago, attributed to then Federal Deputy Bolsonaro. Not surprisingly, these false claims are at odds with the facts. President Bolsonaro’s administration has supported and protected minority groups and the most vulnerable in Brazil, fought to raise employment rates, taken unprecedented steps to protect the environment, and conducted a successful vaccination campaign.
Human rights: Under President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, Brazil has maintained a solid record of respect for the human and labor rights of all Brazilians, as well as defending the dignity of workers. Labor legislation in Brazil is comprehensive and protective, and in many ways offers even broader rights for the average worker than in other countries, including the United States. Many of these rights are enshrined in constitutional clauses that remain intact.
In February, President Jair Bolsonaro visited the state of Maranhão, where he distributed land titles to quilombola families who had been claiming them for decades. During the Covid-19 pandemic, priority was given to indigenous villagers: 88% of the target population has already been administered a dose of the vaccine, and 81% are fully immunized.
As for the LGBT population, the government prepared a guide to help them protect themselves from the virus and provided a hotline available 24 hours a day for reports of human rights abuses. President Bolsonaro also appointed a transgender person as director of LGBT rights promotion, a prominent position in the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights.
Job creation: between January and August 2021, 2.2 million net jobs were created in Brazil. At the start of the pandemic, the Bolsonaro government implemented job protection measures that saved an estimated 10 million jobs in 2020 alone. In its annual report released on September 22, the International Monetary Fund acknowledged that in Brazil “economic performance was better than expected, in part due to the authorities’ vigorous response,” the most comprehensive among developing nations.
Environment: in fulfillment of the commitment made by President Bolsonaro at the Leaders’ Climate Summit, funds for fighting environmental crimes have more than doubled, from US$43 million to US$95 million. According to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Environment, deforestation in the Amazon decreased by 32% last August compared to the same period in 2020.
In a recent address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Bolsonaro reiterated that Brazil will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (the former deadline was 2060). Brazil’s energy matrix is the cleanest in the G20 and we are fully committed to the Paris Agreement and other international environmental agreements.
Covid-19: Under President Bolsonaro’s leadership, Brazil has vaccinated 94% of its adult population, and 68% is fully immunized. With 262 million doses applied, Brazil ranks 4th in the world in total vaccine doses.
As the above examples show, the letter in question has no factual support and contributes nothing to the friendship and cooperation between Brazil and the USA, particularly in the area of Defense, whose roots go back to the common struggle of our troops to defeat Nazism and Fascism in World War II.
It is regrettable that under the pretext of promoting democracy and human rights, a goal fully shared by the Brazilian government, the letter proposes a worldview that struggles to deal with political differences and the facts.
In the words of a great Brazilian statesman, the Baron of Rio Branco over a century ago, the United States may consider Brazil “its oldest and certainly one of its most constant and loyal friends on this continent.” I am certain that this long-term vision of friendship and cooperation which has guided relations between Brazil, the United States and our two peoples will continue to prevail in the years to come.
I am at your disposal to discuss these and any other questions or concerns related to the relations between Brazil and the United States.
Yours sincerely
Nestor Forster Jr.