Message to Washington: Stay Out of Brazil’s Election
Por Editors — Tribune
On Sunday 25 October, Brazilians vote in a crucial run-off election between progressive President Lula and far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was jailed for his role in attempting a coup to overturn the 2022 election result.The election will shape the future not only of Brazil but of wider Latin America, where far-right forces backed by Washington have made huge inroads in recent years as Trump seeks greater influence over the region and, especially, its rare earth minerals, which are essential for advanced technologies and AI.The first-round results and subsequent opinion polls indicate an incredibly close contest.We believe it is for the Brazilian people alone to decide their country’s future, free from outside interference.So we are deeply alarmed that the Trump administration has made clear its support for the Bolsonaro movement and has been intervening in Brazilian politics in the run-up to the election.This has involved economic and diplomatic pressure, including the imposition of punitive tariffs on Brazilian goods explicitly linked to political goals, Trump holding a White House meeting with Flávio Bolsonaro, and reported US funding for groups seeking to undermine Brazilian institutions.There are also mounting concerns about the role of interference by US-based tech platforms in the election, including suppression of pro-Lula content and online political adverts funded from the US in breach of Brazilian electoral law.All this led 31 members of the US Congress to recently express alarm at the scale of US interference and destabilisation in Brazil.Brazilian social movements and trade unions have warned that a victory for Flávio Bolsonaro would pose a threat to the social progress achieved in recent years, a danger to the Amazon, to the rights of Brazil’s large black population and other minorities, and even to democracy itself.We oppose all US interference in Brazil’s election and stand in solidarity with the Brazilian people, their democratic rights and the social movements working for a more equal and just society.Initial signatories include:Richard Burgon MP, Chair of the Brazil Solidarity InitiativeDiane Abbott MPLorraine Beavers MPÓrfhlaith Begley MPApsana Begum MPSiân Berry MPIan Byrne MPEllie Chowns MPJeremy Corbyn MPPat Cullen MPCarla Denyer MPNeil Duncan-Jordan MPColum Eastwood MPCat Eccles MPJohn Finucane MPChris Hazzard MPDáire Hughes MPImran Hussain MPKim Johnson MPIan Lavery MPBrian Leishman MPClive Lewis MPRebecca Long-Bailey MPCathal Mallaghan MPRachael Maskell MPPaul Maskey MPJohn McDonnell MPGrahame Morris MPSimon Opher MPKate Osborne MPAdrian Ramsay MPBell Ribeiro-Addy MPHannah Spencer MPJon Trickett MPNadia Whittome MPChristine Blower, Member of the House of LordsJohn Hendy KC, Member of the House of LordsPrem Sikka, Member of the House of LordsTony Woodley, Member of the House of LordsAndrea Egan, General Secretary, UNISONMaryam Eslamdoust, General Secretary, TSSAPaul Fleming, General Secretary, EquitySteve Gillan, General Secretary, POADaniel Kebede, General Secretary, NEUGawain Little, General Secretary, GFTUDave Ward, General Secretary, CWUSarah Woolley, General Secretary, BFAWUMatt Wrack, General Secretary, NASUWTSteve Wright, General Secretary, FBUJess Barnard, Labour NEC memberMarcus Barnett, TribuneSue Branford, Latin America BureauLee Brown, Brazil Solidarity InitiativeBen Chacko, Editor, Morning StarLuke Daniel, President, Caribbean Labour SolidarityDr Francisco Dominguez, Co-author, Right-Wing Politics in the New Latin AmericaSabby Dhalu, Co-Convenor, Stand up to RacismLindsey German, Convenor, Stop the War CoalitionKate Hudson, Vice-President, CNDMyriam Kane, Black Liberation AlliancePablo Navarrete, Founding Editor, AlboradaMatt Willgress, Editor, Labour OutlookTim Young, Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America.This statement was organised by the Brazil Solidarity Initiative and can also be viewed here.
Fonte: Tribune