Biden avoids challenging Bolsonaro on Brazil’s upcoming elections and handling of the Amazon

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – U.S. President Joe Biden avoided questioning his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro on the upcoming elections in the South American country and the management of the Amazon during the public portion of their meeting Thursday at the Summit of the Americas. Bolsonaro addressed those issues only defensively.

The two heads of state had never met before. They took their seats in a room at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where Biden hosted this summit of Western Hemisphere leaders.

During the public portion of their meeting, Biden praised Brazil’s “vibrant and inclusive democracy and strong electoral institutions” in his welcoming remarks to Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims about his country’s electoral systems. Some Brazilian analysts see this as an attempt to undermine the process if he loses the October elections. He is seeking re-election and faces a strong challenge from his predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In a defensive tone, Bolsonaro brought up Brazil’s presidential election.

“We want honest, clean, transparent, verifiable and reliable elections” so that there is “no shadow of a doubt after the elections,” the South American leader said through a translator.

Biden himself is accused by former President Donald Trump of winning the presidency through a rigged election.

Bolsonaro endorsed Trump and was one of the slowest heads of state to acknowledge Biden’s election victory. He waited more than a month after the November 2020 election to offer his congratulations.

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