Bolsonaro Criticizes Peronist Fernández’s Victory, Bringing Uncertainty to Mercosur

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro did not mask his deep regret at the victory of Peronist Alberto Fernández in Sunday’s Argentinian presidential election.

Brazil’s conservative leader disregarded customary diplomatic protocol with his neighbor, Brazil’s third largest trading partner, announcing that he does not wish to congratulate Fernández.

He also blamed the Argentinian electorate for bringing the left back to power: “I’m sorry. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think Argentina made a bad choice,” he told the Brazilian press during an official visit to the United Arab Emirates.

In addition to the ideological differences, for Bolsonaro it was an affront that, just before and after the victory, the Argentinian supported former President Lula and demanded his release.

In his Twitter account, Carlos Bolsonaro, the president’s son and informal head of government communication, also criticized Mauricio Macri’s political strategy, calling it naive, and reaffirmed his father’s extremist strategy.

“Macri believed he could count on the left, as if there were empathy in communism. He sat on the fence, lost support on one side, couldn’t get it on the other, and when he decided to come down [off the fence] it was too late!”, he stressed.

Argentina’s left-wing shift, together with right-wing Iván Duque’s setback in the municipal elections held this Sunday in Colombia, are bad news for Bolsonaro, who since his election a year ago has become the most prominent representative of national-populism in Latin America.

The Brazilian president also reconsidered his position on the future of the EU-Mercosur agreement with a Peronist Argentina. On Monday, he suggested that if Fernández upholds his statement that he would not join the pact, “removing him as a member will be required”, instead of Brazil leaving.

Bolsonaro was deeply annoyed by references to Lula on such a remarkable day, as one of the factors that led him to power was precisely his stance against leftism and Lula, which prevails in a significant part of Brazilian society.

“Fernández’s first act was ‘Free Lula’, claiming that he is unjustly imprisoned. This anticipates what is coming,” he complained.

The Peronist, throughout his electoral campaign, in fact often endeavored to support Lula, who has been imprisoned for more than a year for corruption.

In his victory speech, Fernández encouraged the crowd to cry out “Free Lula”, after calling for his release. At his side was former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is to be his vice president.

Hours earlier, the Peronist candidate had already claimed his consonance with Lula, who at the beginning of this century was the great reference of the Latin American left-wing, and had demanded his release in a tweet in which he congratulated him for his 74th birthday on Sunday.

After describing him as “an extraordinary man unjustly imprisoned,” he wrote: “I hope to see you soon”.

Unlike President Mauricio Macri, who quickly conceded his defeat and invited his successor to a meeting, his Brazilian counterpart announced that he did not intend to congratulate the Peronist for the time being.

“Let’s wait a while to see what his real position in politics is. He has to take office, adopt a position on what is happening and we will see what line he adopts”.

Source: El Pais

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