US government criticizes violence in Brazil: ‘We will watch elections’

The White House, the seat of the US government, said today it will “closely” monitor the upcoming Sunday (2) elections in Brazil.

“We’ve seen news of violence lately. While the right to protest is fundamental in any democracy, the United States condemns all forms of violence and urges Brazilians to make their voices heard peacefully. We believe this is important in this election. As Brazil’s democracy partner, elections are free, fair, transparent and We will continue to monitor with the expectation that it will be carried out in a reliable way with all relevant institutions operating in accordance with the constitutional rules.”

The demonstration took place at a time when the victory of the far-right coalition led by the FDI party in Italy in the elections on Sunday 25th paved the way for the first woman in Italian history to come to power. European peninsula. “We will monitor these elections, especially in Brazil. We will follow them closely and we will rely on the strength of Brazil’s democratic institutions,” the White House said.

Last week, Douglas Koneff, head of the US embassy to Brazil, defended the Brazilian electoral system during a meeting with former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) in São Paulo.

In a meeting with the PT, Koneff said the US government respects the country’s electoral authorities. The Joe Biden government has signaled support for the work of the TSE (Supreme Electoral Court) in the face of Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) attacks on electronic voting machines and Electoral Court and STF (Supreme Federal Court) ministers. .

In July, the US government stated in a note that the Brazilian elections “set a model for countries in the hemisphere and the world”. The demonstration came after President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) announced without providing evidence that TSE ministers were allegedly trying to elect left-wing politicians by preventing transparency measures in the voting system.

The president is an advocate of print voting and has repeatedly attacked electronic voting machines, many of which were rejected by digital security experts and government agencies such as the Federal Police. The position of the U.S. government, described in a memo issued by the U.S. Embassy, ​​adds to the position of dozens of organizations in the Judiciary and civil society.

“The United States of America relies on the strength of Brazilian democratic institutions. The country has a strong history of transparency and free and fair elections. The Brazilian elections, conducted and tested over time by the electoral system and democratic institutions, serve as a model for elections. The U.S. government, nations of the hemisphere and the world,” he said.

“We are confident that the 2022 Brazilian elections will reflect the will of the voters. Brazilian citizens and institutions continue to demonstrate their deep commitment to democracy. While Brazilians trust the electoral system, Brazil will once again show the world the enduring power of Brazil. It is democracy,” he said.

Electronic voting machines are safe

He says Bolsonaro’s statements that cast doubt on the Brazilian election process are false and that the results of all elections since its implementation are reliable. UOL. Experts and officials, including experts from PF and Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Service), also say the electronic voting machine is secure.

According to them, no system is 100% secure. However, in practice it is extremely unlikely to commit large-scale fraud in voting with electronic voting machines, as this would involve breaching a large number of machines spread across the country. However, TSE takes into account situations that are complex to conduct in security tests.

Since the introduction of electronic voting machines in part in 1996 and 1998, and entirely from 2000, there has never been evidence of fraud in the Brazilian elections, even if the results were contested. The security of voting is confirmed by TSE, MEB (Ministry of Public Elections) and independent studies.