Biden, Lula put on pro-democracy show under Bolsonaro’s shadow

Bloomberg

Joe Biden hosts his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House Friday in a show of support for Brazilian democracy, shaken last month by a right-wing insurrection akin to the invasion of the US Capitol in 2021.
Washington and Brasilia organized the meeting with unusual urgency, scheduling it just six weeks after Lula’s inauguration. Yet there has been no solution to the elephant in the room: former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, who’s been vacationing in Florida since Dec. 30, two days before his mandate ended.
Not only has Lula’s predecessor failed to properly concede defeat after last year’s vote, his supporters back home staged a failed attempt on Jan. 8 to overturn the result of the election. Former President Donald Trump, a Bolsonaro ally who inspired the Capitol riot, has also based himself in the Sunshine State as he seeks a rematch with Biden.
Bolsonaro’s self-imposed exile is unlikely to be a topic of conversation during Friday’s sit-down, at least if that’s up to Lula, according to Brazilian officials. The left-wing leader has more pressing issues to address, and is particularly comfortable with having his bitter rival enjoying a tourist life near Orlando, where he’s become an odd attraction for Brazilians who sympathize with his Trump-like political style.
“Bolsonaro is a problem for the US migration,” ambassador Michel Arslanian, secretary for Latin America at Brazil’s foreign ministry, told reporters this week.
Yet US officials have indicated they’re unlikely to revoke or alter Bolsonaro’s legal ability to remain in the country absent a request from the Brazilian government, which thus far has not made one. The situation presents challenges as Biden and Lula attempt to get the US-Brazil relationship back on track.
“Far-right extremists became a concern for the governability of both countries as they upend the rules of the game, weakening democracy,’’ said Carolina Botelho, a political scientist with the Institute of Advanced Studies at Sao Paulo University.
So far, Bolsonaro has attended a couple of rallies organized by conservative US political groups that have had little impact at home. The former president is seeking a six-month visitor visa to stay in US after arriving on a diplomatic passport in late December.
Back in Brazil, where he faces multiple court probes including into his alleged role in the riots, Bolsonaro could more easily mobilize supporters with public appearances and his famous motorcycle rallies and possibly influencing congress, where his candidate failed to be elected head of the senate last week, the officials said, asking not to be named discussing political strategy.
For Biden, Bolsonaro’s unexpected Florida stay has caused something of a headache as Democrats in Congress pressure him to expel the Brazilian leader. Last month, 46 Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to Biden saying the US “must not provide shelter for him, or any authoritarian who has inspired such violence against democratic institutions.”
“It’s no secret to say that Bolsonaro’s presence in Florida has become a nuisance for the United States as it seeks to move forward with its relationship with Brazil,” said Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
While the Biden administration has stuck with a wait-and-see approach, hoping Bolsonaro leaves the country eventually after his visas expires, its belief is that his presence is seen as little more than a sideshow.
Democracy and the environment will be the common ground designed to help both leaders to reset their countries’ relations. Talks on those issues fizzled out when Biden was elected and initially avoided returning a call from Bolsonaro — who had publicly backed Trump in the 2020 election.