RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro reiterated on Thursday, July 16th, that he supports the re-election of President Donald Trump in the United States, but said that “Brazil will have to make do” if Joe Biden wins and rejects any approach to the Planalto Palace.
“We’re rooting for Trump. We’re sure we’re going to greatly strengthen our relationship. If the other side wins, for my part I’ll try to do something similar [maintain closeness with the US]. If they don’t want to, what can we do, right? Brazil is going to have to get by on its own,” said Bolsonaro, during his live broadcast on social media.
“I think there’s a lot about this trade issue between Brazil and the United States no matter which party, Republican or Democrat, is in power.”
Bolsonaro has been in isolation in the Alvorada Palace since he was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
He was asked during the live broadcast by a journalist about what he would do if Biden – who was Vice-president for Barack Obama – wins the White House race; Biden is now ahead of Trump in most polls.
Although he is perceived as a moderate Democrat, members of his party have already severely criticized the Bolsonaro government, particularly in the environmental area.
Analysts anticipate that a potential Democratic government would put pressure on Brazil on the environmental and human rights fronts. It would also lead to the end of one of the main foundations of current Brazilian foreign policy: Bolsonaro’s identification with Trump.
On Thursday’s live broadcast, Bolsonaro started his answer by saying that his predecessors in the Planalto Palace, since the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC) administration, had dealt with the Americans “almost like enemies”.
“As oppressors, imperialists, there was no rapport. The rapport with FHC, Lula, and Dilma was basically here in South America and dictatorships around the world. Cuba, African dictatorships. A love for Venezuela, Bolivarian countries. The Americans obviously dealt with us as people without much importance,” the President said.
Despite Bolsonaro’s historical reading, ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso had good relations with his counterpart at the White House, Bill Clinton. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and George W. Bush were also perceived as being on good terms.
Dilma Rousseff’s relationship with Barack Obama was disrupted by the disclosure that she had been the target of US National Security Agency espionage.
By insisting that he intends to deepen relations with Americans whoever is in the White House, Bolsonaro once again lashed out at his Argentine counterpart, Peronist Alberto Fernández.
He said that the Argentines, in electing Fernández, had embraced demagogy and the “usual lie”.
Source: Folhapress