After several years of tension, this Friday’s meeting between the presidents Joe Biden and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the White House is seen as a “reset” of relations between Brazil and United Statesthe two largest economies in the region that were marked by the controversial mandates of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro.
(Read here: Bolsonaro requests a six-month visa to stay in the US.)
Lula arrived at Washington just a month after supporters of his predecessor took over several institutions in Brasiliaamong them the Presidential Palace and Congressto try to prevent his rise to power after his victory in the presidential elections.
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A well-known scenario for Biden after the January 6, 2021 a mob of trumpistas took the Capitol pretending to prevent the electoral certification that gave him the victory.
Since the arrival of the Democratic leader to the White Househis relationship with the Bolsonaro government was practically non-existent, to the point that the Brazilian president took months to congratulate Biden for his victorywhile continuing to break his close relationship with the former president trumpwhom he considers an ideological ally.
Bolsonaro’s supporters modeled themselves on Trump’s by trying to overturn the election result through undemocratic means.
“The romance between Trump and Bolsonaro brought both countries closer, but from another perspective. With neither of them in power, now what we have is two leaders (Biden and Lula) who also have a lot in common because they both survived threats from an extreme right that even considered insurrection to remain in power.” says Brian Winter, an expert on Brazil for América Quarterly.
That is one of the reasons why Biden took a few seconds to call the Brazilian leftist leader to congratulate him and offer him a visit to the White House in record time, unlike other leaders of Latin America who have been in line for months to achieve an audience in Washington.
Gustavo Petro, for example, who took office in August of last year and has not yet been able to make a visit to the US capital, despite the fact that Colombia is considered the main ally of USA in the region.
In this sense, the objective of Lula’s trip is much more symbolic than substantial. As Winter says, his focus is to highlight the benefits of democracy and the importance of defending institutions from this type of autocratic tendencies.
For Eduard Porter, who writes on economic and hemispheric issues in Bloomberg and the Washington Postthe visit also served other purposes.
“To a large extent, the problems that Brazil has just experienced, with the insurrection last month, emanate from what happened in the US in 2021. Bolsonaro’s supporters copied the model of Trump’s trying to reverse the result of the elections through undemocratic means. The ‘express’ invitation to Lula, in this context, is more than justified as it is an admission of US responsibility in the entire coup attempt in Brazil. At the same time, Biden’s quick endorsement of Lula is a message to the Brazilian military that Washington stands firmly behind them and that a democratic breakdown would not be tolerated,” Porter says.
That without counting the many things that Biden and Lula they have in common beyond the defense of democracy.
They have known each other since the time when the tenant of the White House was the vice president of Barack Obama (2008-2016) and since then they developed a close friendship.
This added to the fact that, although Biden cannot be considered a leader of the left, as a Democrat he manages an agenda that is in tune with Lula’s priorities, particularly with regard to climate change and the defense of the amazon. Topics that are part of his agenda in the US capital.
However, the leaders also have points on which they differ. Lula, for example, believes that both Russia as Ukraine have responsibility in the war, while for Biden it is clear that Vladimir Putin It is the aggressor and the one who must be punished.
political shadows
On the other hand, both the shadow of Bolsonaro and that of Trump were present at the meeting.
The former Brazilian president, who still has not accepted his defeat despite allowing the transfer of power, arrived in the US on December 30 and is based in Florida, where he also resides. republican leader. And it is speculated that his intention is to remain in the US indefinitely. Something for which he already hired an immigration lawyer.
In a letter sent a few weeks ago to Bidenseveral dozen Democratic lawmakers asked the president not to shelter Bolsonaro in the country.
Although in Brazil there are no charges against Bolsonaro for his possible role in the January 8 insurrection, much less an extradition request, the authorities are investigating.
“We cannot allow Bolsonaro and other Brazilian officials to take refuge in the US to escape any crimes they have committed while in power. We must fully cooperate in any investigation against them if they do not ask for it,” the congressmen said in the letter, including the Colombian-American Rubén Gallego.
Bolsonaro, by contrast, has been welcomed with open arms by Trumpism in Miami. A week ago, he participated in an event organized by Turning Point USA, a right-wing group close to Trump.
During his speech, the cries of “fraud” were recurring, very much in the style of the tone that has been used in these groups since Biden’s victory in November 2020.
There is no doubt that Bolsonaro’s presence in the United States is a “hot potato” for both Biden and Lula, and, according to experts, the former president was part of the private conversation between the two leaders this Friday.
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
TIME CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON
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