This will be the first bilateral meeting between the two heads of state; They should talk about preserving the environment, promoting clean energy, the war in Ukraine, and democracy in America
EFE/Joedson Alves and EFE/EPA/Oliver Contreras/POOL
The President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro (PL), will appear in the 9th edition of the Summit of the Americasin Los Angeles, this Thursday the 9th, as his main engagement first bilateral meeting with the President of the United States, Joe Biden. The trip comes after Biden insisted Bolsonaro accept the White House invitation. Since taking office on January 20, 2021, the American head of state has avoided any gesture of rapprochement with Bolsonaro. The Brazilian was one of the last heads of state to congratulate him on his victory over former US President Donald Trump in the presidential election. Both have never spoken to each other on the phone. The trip to the meeting came only after a bilateral meeting between the two heads of state of at least 30 minutes was promised.
Former Brazilian Ambassador to the United States Rubens Barbosa believes the two countries can only benefit from the conference. “Both Presidents benefited from this meeting. President Biden because with the arrival of President Bolsonaro, Brazil has not helped to empty this summit, which was already half empty due to the absence of five or six presidents, and President Bolsonaro because he will have this opportunity to meet with the leader the most important country in the world to meet and you will be able to say that it is not isolated or welcomed by global leaders,” he said.
FMU international law professor Manuel Furriela says the commitment is a sign of rapprochement between the two countries. “It will be an opportunity to bring the two Presidents closer together because President Jair Bolsonaro publicly supported Donald Trump’s candidacy, but President Joe Biden, when he emerged victorious and also when he took power, took a very pragmatic line in relation hit Brazil. . Some groups had expected that there would be friction between Joe Biden and Jair Bolsonaro, between the two presidents, between the two countries, and on the contrary, the American government presented some guidelines, mainly related to the environment, Brazil met several of these expectations. , so there is actually a line of understanding between the two presidents. So I believe that this will now be an opportunity for rapprochement, and this rapprochement will also be used by the Brazilian President in the elections to demonstrate international prestige and to demonstrate that there is a private meeting between him and the American government .” he said. Topics to be addressed by the two leaders include preserving the environment, promoting clean energy, the war between Russia and Ukraine and democracy on the continent.
The rapprochement is important for the United States because China has overtaken the Americans as the top trading partner of several Latin American countries, including Brazil. Professor Marcos Vinícius de Freitas, University of Foreign Affairs of China, points out that Joe Biden will use the bilateral meeting with Brazil positively and at the summit will try to consolidate North American importance in the region. “It is extremely necessary because the United States is Brazil’s second largest economic partner, the number of American companies in Brazil is relevant, there is a flow of Brazilians traveling to the United States, and even a large Brazilian diaspora in the United States, so the dialogue is important. It has a lot to do with the stockpile of things that are going to be on the negotiating table by the United States at this moment and that they have to do that, and it’s important to emphasize here, because otherwise they start losing, in increasingly consolidated ways way, the relevance in the region,” he comments.
In addition to several members of the entourage, President Bolsonaro will also be accompanied by Foreign Minister Carlos França. The 9th edition of the Summit of the Americas, an event bringing together leaders from the continent, was opened by Joe Biden last Wednesday the 8th. In his opening remarks, he said democracy is an integral part of America and announced that the United States will work with governments in the region on economic, climate and immigration initiatives.
*With information from reporter Daniel Lian