President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Wednesday that he will not attend the inauguration of Chile’s left-wing president-elect Gabriel Boric, scheduled for March 11. “I will not go into details so as not to create foreign relations problems, but who will attend the inauguration of the new Chilean president? I won’t,” said the far-right leader, during a radio interview.
Mr. Bolsonaro’s decision is motivated by the fact that Mr. Boric’s coalition has developed strong ties with the Brazilian left, which The Brazilian Report showed in December. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — the center-left former president who leads all polls ahead of the October election — is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony, as will Randolfe Rodrigues, the opposition whip in the Senate.
Chilean officials told The Brazilian Report that the country’s government has been cautious about inviting international leaders to the ceremony as a result of a spike in Omicron cases, which has countries scrambling to avoid the collapse of local health systems.
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