Brazil’s Bolsonaro assures he will maintain relations with leftist governments if reelected

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, affirmed today that if he is reelected in the October elections, he will maintain diplomatic relations with South American countries governed by the left.

In a radio interview, Bolsonaro assured that Brazil would not cut relations with any country in the region even if the government is completely ideologically opposed, after having harshly criticized several leftist leaders in the region during his first term.

“We do not close the doors for anything to any country here in South America. I am giving this message to the population of those countries walking toward their choices (to the left). He explained that everyone is free to make their own choices now in our elections”, he explained.

The Brazilian president also criticized how the COVID-19 pandemic was dealt with in Brazil and South America and said that the policy of isolation to reduce contagions was wrong.

“I could have stayed perfectly well in the three-story Presidential Palace, where there is everything I want. But I had to be among the people, and I was on the outskirts of Brasilia, in the satellite cities, and in more humble places, I was with the population. Several times I was in people’s homes without a mask. Because the mask is another story, another taboo that will be discovered soon”, he commented.

Bolsonaro also defended again the early treatment against COVID-19 with drugs whose efficacy has not been proven and said he was not wrong “in any opinion” he gave during the health emergency caused by the virus.

According to all polls, Bolsonaro is behind former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the population’s voting intention. The most recent survey, by Datafolha, gives Lula a victory in the first round with 47% of the votes, to Bolsonaro’s 32%, while in the second round, Lula would win with 54% of the votes, to Bolsonaro’s 37%.

With information from Xinhua