in a meeting with clarion and three other international media, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira denied that the US Foreign Ministry had contacts with the Brazilian government to determine the situation of the former president who went into self-exile in the United States, but You are not a citizen of that country.
Lula da Silva’s government blames the former president ideologically for the excesses of the coup in the political center of Brasilia last Sunday, 8. The foreign minister said that the former president actually owns a diplomatic passportbut he clarified that this is a common law among former heads of state.
Even with that document, he explained, his visa would be temporarily normal, for no more than 45 days. “I don’t know that there is a visa for former presidents,” she commented. To make it longer “should be diplomatic” and Bolsonaro not, he claimed
Without necessarily naming the former president, Vieira, a veteran diplomat who already held the foreign ministry in Dilma Rousseff’s second government, underlined that when justice decides and the police claim him, his The Farnesina will send the relative extradition requests. “The government is not playing with this,” she warned.
In the interview, the official he complained about the physical and image damage suffered by the country this implied the barbarism of Bolsonaro’s hordes, but he stressed that “the world, on the other hand, can appreciate that Brazil has shown solidity, that it has had a strong reaction from the government and that it is in control” of the situation.
As for the international agenda, which he had already reviewed in an extensive exclusive interview with clarion Hours before Lula da Silva took office, Vieira reiterated the search for an equidistance between the United States and China. “We absolutely want to be linked to all countries that defend our national interest,” he said.
He again condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stressed the need for dialogue to stop the conflict and defended the bailout of regional forums such as Celac and Unasur, to gain progress on institutional problems in the region. On the 23rd, in fact, Lula arrives with part of his cabinet in Argentina to participate the following day in a summit of the first of those regional organizations.
The fate of Bolsonaro
Specifically asked about what can happen legally immediately by the government with the self-exiled former president in the US regarding his responsibilities in the crisis, he indicated that “any provision in this regard is taken by other ministries”.
He explained that at the moment “the federal police will give the warrants necessary to respond and there our role is to be the channel that processes the extradition requests that justice claims”. But you said that the granting of visas is a sovereign law of countries and in this sense he denied that there have been consultations by the US to consider the future of that permit.
The official was emphatic in pointing out that “the government has been strict in restoring order, today there are no doubts about security” and recalled that, as part of the consolidation of control, a large number of people were arrested “That they will have to answer to justice”.
“There is an investigation underway to establish who financed this because it is certain that there has been funding, many people have been mobilized, so we need to know who paid, who stimulated these people. They have to pay for the serious acts committed against democracy”.
Regarding Bolsonaro’s refusal to acknowledge the victory of the PT leader and his insistent denunciation of fraud, the foreign minister, who has been ambassador to Argentina, the US and the UN, said that “there is no doubt about the legitimacy of the election of President Lula”.
“There are also no doubts about the Brazilian electoral system – he continued – which is serious, solid and an example to the world of one of the few countries where three hours after the close of the elections, the result is obtained majority 96, 98 percent”.
Vieira was confident that there would not be another episode of destructive bigotry. “The conditions for there to be a recurrence will be increasingly severe. I hope everyone has realized this the government doesn’t mess with this, There are strong and firm measures in accordance with the law that have been taken and others that will be taken with the now absolute control “by the government.
As regards the image consequences of this episode for the country, the Foreign Minister first focused on the material side. “The physical damage to the structures was tremendous, enormous. And condemnable because it is a public heritage, of all the Brazilian people”.
In terms of prestige, he acknowledged that the world paid central attention to what transpired. “A week after the president took office, which there was a real celebration of democracy, this happens that reaches major media around the world.”
“There has clearly been a big backlash, but it has also triggered huge displays of solidarity from around the world and trust in Brazilian institutions. There has been damage, but on the other hand, the world can see that Brazil is solid you had a reaction strong and immediate, that we are in control,” he summed up.
Priority Latin America and the Caribbean
This was underlined by a source from the Farnesina outside the meeting with the minister the government’s international agenda will continue unchanged. The president will travel to Argentina and Uruguay and then to the United States in February, shortly after China and the European Union is on the calendar. “The intention is to strengthen ties and restore bridges with the world’s three largest economies. But also to resume the vision with Africa abandoned by the previous government”.
Vieira, in turn, stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean are at the top of the agenda. And he explained that in relation to the institutional chaos that is upsetting the region, the indicated path is “talk to everyone, that’s why we go to CELAC”.
“There and in Unasur we managed to overcome such big crises before… More cooperation there will be more understanding, without rivalry, without ideological discrimination. You have to talk,” she explained. She said that this vision of dialogue also applies to Venezuela, as well as other dictatorships in Nicaragua or Cuba.
Brasilia. Special delivery
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.