Biden Has Vowed to “Unite the World” if Brazil Fails to Protect the Amazon

RIO DE JANEIRO,  BRAZIL  – President-elect and then democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States Joe Biden said in an interview published in March that, if elected, his administration “will unite the world” to pressure Jair Bolsonaro’s government to protect the Amazon Forest and ensure the preservation of the environment.

“President Bolsonaro should know that if Brazil ceases to be a responsible guardian of the Amazon Rainforest, my administration will unite the world to ensure that the environment is protected,” said Biden to the Americas Quarterly independent website.

The questions were sent and answered by the Democrat’s campaign in March. “The fires that swept across the Amazon last summer were devastating and prompted global efforts to halt the destruction and support reforestation before it’s too late,” Biden said, as he was asked if the United States would take any kind of action should Brazil fail to protect the forest.

The publication also asked the Democrat if his administration would favor free trade agreements with Latin American countries, particularly Brazil.

The then candidate said that any negotiation of a pact should ensure job creation in the United States, protection of American workers, and take into account environmental concerns.

“Our current free trade agreements in Latin America – and globally – must be implemented fairly so that they create jobs and ensure prosperity for both parties,” he said.

In late October, Juan González, advisor for Latin America to the ex-Vice-president during his time at the White House, had already warned on social media about the degradation of relations between Brazil and the United States, should the Democrat emerge victorious from the November 3rd presidential elections and Jair Bolsonaro’s government fail to meet its obligations to safeguard the environment and human rights.

“Anyone in Brazil or anywhere else who thinks they can promote an ambitious relationship with the United States while ignoring important issues like climate change, democracy and human rights, clearly has not heard Joe Biden during his campaign,” González wrote on Twitter.

Biden has also mentioned raising US$20 billion to “save” the Amazon Forest, a proposal that Bolsonaro described as “lamentable” and “disastrous”. The American elections are taking place today, Tuesday, November 3rd.

Because of the pandemic, at least 98 million people have already voted by mail or in advance. According to the average of the latest polls prepared by RealClearPolitics, Biden is leading the voting intentions at the national level with 50.9 percent, against 44.4 percent for current President Donald Trump.

During his administration, Jair Bolsonaro deepened Brazil’s relations with the United States. Part of this rapprochement campaign was based on the convergence of views and ideologies advocated by both governments. The assessment of the consequences for Brazil of a Biden victory traces two paths, one of ideology and another of pragmatism.

In the Planalto, it is believed that the right-wing stars in the cabinet constellation – Ernesto Araújo in the Foreign Ministry and Ricardo Salles, in the Environment – would be weakened. The inexorable fact is that Trump’s defeat will undoubtedly have an impact on how Bolsonaro conducts his relations with Congress, the Federal Supreme Court, the media, Twitter accounts, and political parties. Until recently, with a slight upgrade in recent months, he followed his American colleague’s confrontational tactics.

If this model is defeated, and with his 2022 reelection prospects constantly in mind, he is likely to try to erect additional channels toward the center. “Regardless of the elections, we always work to build bridges with the key players in both parties,” Nestor Forster Jr., the Brazilian ambassador in Washington, D.C., told VEJA.

Source: Veja