LatinNews Daily - 25 October 2021

Brazil: On 14 October over 60 US members of congress addressed a letter to US President Joe Biden expressing concern with the policies and behaviour of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and calling for a review of US-Brazil relations. The letter raises concerns about Bolsonaro’s authoritarian tendencies and his disregard for the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. “We urge you [President Biden] to send a clear message to the Bolsonaro Administration that if President Bolsonaro’s attacks on the Brazilian election process continue, then US-Brazil relations will be severely compromised”, the letter, which is signed by Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) and 63 of his colleagues, reads, in reference to Bolsonaro’s indications that he may not accept the results of the October 2022 presidential elections. The signatories suggest “identifying potential adjustments to the [US-Brazil] relationship that could provide leverage to incentivise less harmful behaviour”. The “adjustments” proposed in the letter include rescinding the offer to make Brazil a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) global partner and cancel its designation as a Major Non-Nato Ally, both awarded to Brazil under former US president Donald Trump (2017-2021) with whom Bolsonaro had friendly relations. The US members of congress also cite the retirement of the former US ambassador to Brazil, Todd Chapman, as “an important opportunity to put our relationship with Brazil back on the right track”, noting that Chapman maintained “a problematic personal friendship with Bolsonaro and refused to publicly encourage Bolsonaro to protect the environment, human rights, and democracy in his nation”. 

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