By: Alexander Ward; Politico
FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY –– Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) fears for Brazil’s democracy as it heads into a raucous presidential election in October, and he wants the U.S. Senate to officially stand on the side of voters — regardless of who they choose.
Former President LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA leads President JAIR BOLSONARO by about 7 percentage points, according to the latest polls. A possible defeat has pushed the far-right incumbent to the edge, especially since losing means he could face criminal charges for his shambolic handling of the Covid-19 outbreak in his country.
He’s called on his supporters to take to the streets and “fight for our freedom.” He’s attacked judges, saying they’re out to ruin his presidency. He’s told foreign diplomats that Brazil’s voting machines are hackable. And he’s pushed to turn a military parade during September’s Independence Day celebrations into a campaign rally for himself.
“Only God will remove me” from office, Bolsonaro said a year ago. “I will never be imprisoned.”
Those and other comments have fueled concerns that Bolsonaro, who has long fetishized Brazil’s military dictatorship, would support a military coup to stay in power. Ask him about it, though, and he denies such machinations. “I’m not afraid of losing the election. I’m not worried about it,” Bolsonaro said in a Monday interview on the Flow Podcast. But, he added, “if I wanted to pull off a coup I wouldn’t say anything.”
Sanders is no fan of Bolsonaro, and less so that the chances of him scheming to steal the election aren’t zero. It’s why the Vermont lawmaker plans to introduce a “Sense of the Senate” resolution once Congress returns from the August recess, which would both show senators’ support for a free and fair election and call on the U.S. to break ties with Brazil if it’s led by an illegitimate regime.
“It would be unacceptable for the United States to recognize and work with a government that actually lost the election. It would be a disaster for the people of Brazil, and it would send a horrific message to the entire world about the strength of democracy,” Sanders told NatSec Daily in an interview. He underscored that if Bolsonaro, Lula or someone else wins the presidency lawfully, then there’s no need for a change in the U.S.-Brazil relationship — it’s the will of the people, after all.
The senator is sending draft text around to his colleagues. He said that so far he has received support from Democrats for the measure but none from Republicans, though that could change.
The fate of Brazil’s election is an issue Sanders has engaged with deeply over the last few weeks. He met in July with a delegation of civil society leaders who pressed him on the need to support Brazil’s democracy. IMAN MUSA JADALLAH, advocacy director for the Washington Brazil Office, the human rights group that organized the visit, said Sanders didn’t commit to any specific actions but would “do what he can to express solidarity” with Brazilians.
The good news, experts say, is that Brazil’s democratic institutions are quite strong. Officials and citizens are speaking out against Bolsonaro’s wildest claims and pre-bunking his possible arguments of election fraud. “They’re trying to get ahead of that,” said ROBERTA BRAGA, director of counter disinformation strategies at Equis.
She also expects some members of Brazil’s military to follow Bolsonaro’s lead, but the armed forces as a whole won’t take part in any coup attempt. The biggest likeliest threat is that “we could see popular mobilization like we saw in the U.S. akin to Jan. 6,” Braga said.
NatSec Daily asked Sanders why he’s doing a “Sense of the Senate,” a non-binding resolution, when he could put forward a bill with more teeth. “This is a start,” he replied. “It’s important for the people of Brazil to know we’re on their side, on the side of democracy and we can go further.”
