Politics

Who should Brazil cheer for in the U.S. elections?

Brazil's government and opposition are beginning to look closer at the upcoming U.S. elections, working out who they will support

Who will Brazil cheer for in the U.S. elections?
Photo: Aspects and Angles/Shutterstock

Tomorrow’s Iowa caucus will kickstart the U.S. presidential election cycle, and Brazil will be paying close attention to the American political decision. Local markets may be affected, but the outcome may also have crucial repercussions on Brazil’s relationship with its richer and more powerful neighbor to the north.

But who will Brazil be cheering for?

That depends on who you think represents the country. If by Brazil we mean the Jair Bolsonaro administration, then the re-election of Donald Trump is the only positive outcome possible.

However, for those opposed to the current president, having one of a broad field of Democratic candidates in the White House would be a political victory—undoing Mr. Trump’s administration and its ties to Brazil, as well as creating a host of problems for Jair Bolsonaro.

Either Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bloomberg, or Elizabeth Warren could create immediate problems for Brazil on the international arena, with pressure over protecting the Amazon and defending free press, criticizing authoritarianism and leaving a much more closed channel for Jair Bolsonaro, along with more support for strengthening democracy in Brazil.

The Iowa caucus and the Democratic field

Two of the U.S. Democratic Party’s main contenders have been publicly critical of Jair Bolsonaro, and openly supportive of his opponents, particularly former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, released from jail last year. 

Both Iowa caucus favorite Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren have been vocal about Brazil and critical of their perception of a rise in authoritarianism, especially with regard to American journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has recently been the subject of a criminal complaint...

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