In an unprecedented letter to the European Commission, 50 lawmakers from the bloc asked Europe to reject any threat to Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazilian electoral system and to monitor the country’s vote, even from afar, next Sunday.
The text also recommends that the bloc adopt trade sanctions if a democratic break occurs. The letter does not detail how this will be done, only what commercial tools should be used to defend democracy in Brazil. The column found that the message was clear: suspension of certain benefits or increase in tariffs for Brazilian products. It’s basically a kind of sanction for Europe, one of Brazil’s main trading and investment partners.
“Given the unprecedented threats to the Brazilian general election, we urge the European Commission to take additional steps to make it clear to President Bolsonaro and his administration that the Brazilian Constitution must be respected and that attempts to subvert the rules of democracy are unacceptable.” , ask MPs
“It is also crucial to deter the Brazilian military leadership from any tendency to support any coup,” the letter says.
Lawmakers are still signaling possible sanctions. “The EU should announce that it will use different levers, including trade, to defend democracy and human rights in Brazil,” they say.
The document echoes the pattern of pressure exerted on President Joe Biden by US congressmen a few weeks ago. The content of both letters is pretty much the same, with warnings about the threats to democracy Bolsonaro represents.
“In anticipation of the Brazilian general election on October 2, 2022, more than 50 members of the European Parliament wrote a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, asking them to vote for the Brazilian elections. monitor and support democratic institutions in Brazil,” he said.
“The Brazilian electronic voting system, in operation since 1996 and thought to be secure and reliable, has been the target of repeated and unfounded attacks by President Jair Bolsonaro. The collapse of democracy will have international consequences,” he warns.
“In case of President Bolsonaro’s defeat, attacks on democratic institutions and threats of not recognizing the election result are of deep concern,” said Anna Cavazzini, MP for the Green Bloc in parliament.
“We ask the European Commission and the Foreign Action Service to closely monitor the situation and support those who defend democracy in Brazil, and make it clear that the international community will condemn any coup attempt.”
According to the letter, 50 lawmakers express “deep concern about the systematic attacks on democratic institutions in Brazil”.
The text warns of the meeting between Bolsonaro and foreign ambassadors, where the president lied about the electoral system.
“At his meeting with diplomatic troops on July 18, 2022, President Bolsonaro declared that the “(electronic) system is completely vulnerable” without presenting any evidence of fraud,” the lawmakers said.
“This isn’t the first time Brazil is trying to discredit its electoral institutions. In June, it promised to “go to war” if necessary to avoid a “steal” election. And on September 19, less than a month into the vote, electoral fraud if it doesn’t get 60 percent of the vote in the first round He announced that he would be mixed up,” he said.
“We fear that if lost it could prevent a peaceful transfer of power,” the Europeans warned.
Another important point is the political violence in Brazil. Threats, intimidation and political violence, including death threats against candidates, continue to increase online and offline. Since July, two PT supporters have been killed by Bolsonarists and death threats have been made against socialist candidate Guilherme Boulos.
“These actions create terror among the population and deter potential candidates from running. UN experts point out that these threats specifically target women, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and LGBTIs, limiting their opportunities for representation in decisions that affect them. The destructive exclusion cycle,” they say. .
tracing
In the letter, 50 lawmakers still ask the Commission to monitor the situation in the country. “At the moment, there will be no EU Election Observation Mission in Brazil as there has been no invitation from the Brazilian officials responsible for the elections. However, we urge the EU delegation in Brazil as well as the SEAE as a whole to closely monitor the situation and support Brazilian institutions advocating democracy and democracy. to support non-governmental organizations”.
So the letter to the deputies:
Anna Cavazzini
Michele Rivasi
Miguel Urban Crespo
Maria Arena
François Alfonsi
Joao Albuquerque
aubry margrete
Malin Bjork
Delara Burkhardt
Martin Buschmann
Michael Blossom
Saskia Bricmont
Damien Careme
Leila Chaibi
Antoni Komin
David Cormand
Ignazio Corrao
Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield
Karima Delli
Ozlem Demirel
Eleanor House
Jose Gusmao
Francisco Guerreiro
Claude Gruffat
Martin Hausling
Yannick Jadot
Petros Kokkalis
Stelios Kuloglu
Pierre Larroutou
Marisa Matias
Sara Matthieu
Marina Size
Ana Miranda
Grace O’Sullivan
Jutta Paulus Kira
Marie Peter Hansen
Clara Ponsati
carles puigde
Thomas Wait
source: Noticias
