It was 7:21 p.m. on Sunday, October 30th. The second round election day is very important for democracy in Brazil. A social media post with a simple but powerful message was requested by Berlin diplomacy at the German embassy in Brasilia. A photograph of the electronic voting machine projected on the TSE building and two words: “I trust”.
At that moment, the count showed an extremely tight race between Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. But the purpose of the Europeans was different. Berlin wanted to make it clear that whatever the fate of the election, confidence would prevail in the Brazilian electoral system.
As soon as the final result was announced, it didn’t take long for a lot of messages from the chancellor to the next president to appear on social networks and official correspondence. In the 48 hours that followed, more than a hundred countries around the world had already shown that Lula is Brazil’s new interlocutor in the world.
But none of this happened by chance, and the drowning operation was prepared for months to finally question the survey results.
For governments like Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, and Emmanuel Macron, it was not just the definition of who would command the largest economy in Latin America, but the future of the survival of the far right. world agenda.
The logic was simple: if the ultraconservative movement goes global and articulates in different parts of the world to generate disinformation and help each other, the response to preserve democracy must also be articulate and international. And pulling Brazil out of the world’s far-right alliance would be a major blow to attempts by these populist groups to redefine the international agenda, including alliances with Vladimir Putin and leaders who openly question liberal democracy.
Between election and inauguration, by the end of the year, Lula’s team will maintain contacts and multiply meetings with foreign officials to protect the transition. Fear is how Bolsonarista protests try to block the opening. In this sense, Lula will also use his visit to the Climate Conference to be held in Egypt next week to discuss the opening. Possible meetings include a meeting with UN secretary general Joe Biden and Antônio Guterres.
But the work of the international community began months ago. The first concrete step came from the government of Joe Biden, who saw Bolsonarism as a repetition of Donald Trump’s strategies to undermine democracy. In fact, the Brazilian was one of the rare international leaders to repeat the Republican’s speech about US election fraud. He was one of the last to recognize Biden’s victory, Ernesto Araújo, then prime minister, sent mixed signals about events on Capitol Hill.
A visit to Brazil by CIA director William Burns in May 2022 would make it clear to Bolsonaro’s government that the White House would not tolerate a democratic break or questioning about the polls. In the months that followed, other meetings also sent messages to Planalto Palace that claims that the polls were unreliable would not receive support from Washington.
Bolsonaro’s decision in July to summon foreign ambassadors to a meeting also raised international concerns. The president will use the meeting to expose the alleged flaws in the electoral system. That same day, the capitals of democratic governments received telegrams from their ambassadors in Brazil warning of the risks in the country that Bolsonaro would not accept a final defeat.
Fears turned into an international articulation. Alongside Lula’s campaign, a delegation of Jacques Wagner and Celso Amorim visited foreign embassies in Brazil with the then candidate. Among the various themes, one was common to almost all meetings: the need for democracies to recognize the Brazilian electoral process and the need for silence on behalf of the international community in the face of a possible coup or coup d’état. questioning the results.
Articulation also included international organizations. After receiving detailed information from social movements in Brazil, the International Commission on Human Rights set up a cell to monitor elections in the country. It was up to Michelle Bachelet, then High Commissioner for Human Rights, to raise the alarm at the UN about Bolsonaro’s attacks on the ballot boxes and the judiciary. This gesture infuriated the government, and Itamaraty protested in a private meeting.
Between August and September, the articulation gained the participation of civil society. Groups such as the Washington Office, the Instituto Vladimir Herzog, and Conectas have traveled to US and European capitals to seek support against a possible election challenge.
Their demand was that foreign governments immediately approve the election results.
Diplomats from the Biden administration at the US State Department asked if there was a risk margin and committed to prompt recognition of the survey results. To prevent political pressure from threatening this US action, an operation was set up in the US Senate to have members of Congress press the State Department in the same direction.
Also crucial was the unanimous approval of a resolution in the US Senate warning that any intervention by the Brazilian military in a coup d’etat against democracy would result in the immediate suspension of military agreements between Brazil and the United States. Brazilian generals admitted behind the scenes that this decision had a far greater impact on the Armed Forces than the actions at the São Paulo Law School on 11 August to defend democracy.
In Europe, Parliament in Brussels also took action, and dozens of lawmakers signed a letter, which recommended the European Commission to suspend the deals or even use trade measures against Brazil if there was a democratic break.
European questions revolved around social ailments. European Commission diplomats tried to figure out in what scenario of gaps in votes could result in eventual social chaos.
In fact, days before the election, the Americans called on their Brazilian counterparts to ask when the result would be announced on Sunday, asking State Department officials to mobilize to initiate social media recognition.
Indeed, 38 minutes after the TSE declared Lula the winner, the US would recognize the “success” of a “fair and transparent” election. In an action coordinated with the White House, European allies have also rushed to give their recognition to the elected president by forming a security strip against any possible threat from Bolsonaro.
Biden tried to call Lula on the same night of victory. However, a communication problem delayed the conversation until the next day. The Brazilian had spoken to more than 20 international leaders within 24 hours of his victory. Among them was French President Emmanuel Macron, who openly stated that he was “impatiently” waiting for that moment.
In the two days that followed, recognition came even from Bolsonaro’s traditional allies in Hungary, Poland, and Italy, as well as dictatorships and undemocratic regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China.
The hard core of Bolsonarism remained silent for hours after the election, in hopes that disinformation, roadside operations on social media would mobilize masses across the country. But the popular support they needed did not come, and Bolsonaro, cornered, was warned by his closest allies that he would not have any international support if he wanted to.
In Washington, at UN headquarters in New York, in Brussels, in Paris or in Berlin, diplomats could not hide their celebrations: the alliance between democracies had worked. Now, Lula will have to work until he takes office.
source: Noticias
