Bolsonaro and Biden meeting should provide little, but serve both

by Lisandra Paraguassu and Anthony Boadle

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – In the opposing camps of world politics, Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Joe Biden have almost nothing in common, but a hasty invitation from the US leader to try to keep the Summit of America from emptying will bring the two together. face to face, in a bilateral meeting that promises to deliver little to either side.

The invitation to Bolsonaro two weeks ago through White House special envoy Chris Dodd was the US government’s latest attempt to save this week’s summit in Los Angeles from the failure represented by the US government’s absence. Presidents of several Latin American countries.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed on Monday that he will not do so, despite attempts by the Biden administration to persuade him.

On the other hand, for Bolsonaro, who is determined not to participate, for a president who wants to be re-elected, the photo taken with the American president is very valuable, but also carries the guilt of isolating Brazil and reducing its size. country on the international stage.

Amid growing Chinese influence in the region, Biden sees this year’s summit as a way to improve relations with Latin America after the damage done by the Donald Trump administration and return to occupying the space now dominated by China.

Former Secretary of State Celso Amorim, who has served as Foreign Minister in two governments, such as Itamar Franco and Luiz Inácio Lula, says that at a time of conflict with Russia and China, the US president must demonstrate that the Americas are united by a summit with the relevant assets. da Silva– already at three summits. “There is a symbolic problem for both sides,” he said.

“But it comes at a price. The cost is that he accepts it and asks a Brazilian president to be present, who says he rigged the election,” Amorim told Reuters. said. “On the Brazilian side, Bolsonaro will be able to say he’s with Putin and Biden in six months.”

While Bolsonaro did not directly accuse Biden of electoral fraud, he repeatedly reiterated Trump’s false speech during the US election that there was fraud in some states.

Bolsonaro made a statement in this direction even on the eve of the meeting. Those who say (about US election fraud) are the American people. I will not go into details about the sovereignty of another country. Now, Trump was doing very well and a lot has come to us, we will defend our right. In an interview with SBT News on Tuesday, Bolsonaro said that this should happen in Brazil. We don’t want it,” he said.

Disappointed with the outcome of the US vote, the Brazilian was one of the last presidents to congratulate Biden on his election by letter. His claim was that he was waiting for the result to be confirmed in the face of doubts.

Trump’s performance in the face of defeat inspires a similar speech by Bolsonaro, who has cast doubts about electronic voting machines and the counting process since last year and asked whether he would admit defeat. His rhetoric, with the invasion of the US Congress in January last year, casts doubts at home and abroad that his followers might follow the same path as the Trumpists.

Biden’s envoys across the country, including CIA director William Burns, sent messages from Washington that Bolsonaro should stop attacking the electoral system, but these had no effect.

But Bolsonaro’s attacks on democracy should not – at least openly – not be aimed at conversations between the two presidents. Topics are expected to include trade, energy and mining investments, defense and sustainable development, Itamaraty’s Secretary for the Americas Ambassador Pedro Miguel da Costa e Silva told Reuters.

One of the summit statements that presidents must sign includes democracy and human rights and support for election observer missions. Recently, Bolsonaro has created problems for the Supreme Electoral Court’s (TSE) invitation to a European Union mission, which canceled his participation in the October elections.

But the ambassador assured that this problem is not a problem for Brazil.

“Brazil supports and has always supported electoral missions. There is even an invitation for an election delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) to come to the country for our elections in October,” he told Reuters. “Other countries have problems with their electoral missions. Brazil is not among them.”

Amorim and other analysts say nothing important will be discussed during the largely symbolic 30-minute meeting of the two presidents, scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles.

“The relationship is beyond repair. Washington and Brasilia fundamentally disagree on all important current issues, from climate change and Amazon deforestation to democracy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

Even Bolsonaro’s aides believe it’s not worth trying to develop a relationship with Biden at this point.

“They believe Bolsonaro will be re-elected, but Biden will lose in the Senate (majority) and the House and Trump will come back,” Stuenkel said.

Only the Ministry of Economy still believes the meeting could be a way to build bridges with Brazil’s second-largest trading partner and advance issues that have fundamentally stalled since Biden was elected. Among them is the initiative of a trade agreement between the two countries.