US Representatives Propose Resolution on Democracy in Brazil
WBO Press release February 8 2023
After the Senate, the US House also discusses Bolsonaro's presence in Florida
Rejection of Brazilian coup plotters grows after the former president announced his intention to extend his stay on US soil
Democrat Representatives David Cicilline, Gregory Meeks and Joaquin Castro proposed this Wednesday (8) a resolution of the US House of Representatives condemning the violent actions of January 8 against democracy in Brazil, supporting the electoral victory and the legitimate mandate of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; and urging US authorities to cooperate with their Brazilian counterparts to hold accountable citizens of Brazil linked to these attacks who are on US soil.
To be approved, the resolution must first go through a vote on the floor of the House, and only then be delivered to US President Joe Biden, who has a meeting scheduled with Lula at the White House this Friday (10).
Among other points, the text “asks the US government to cooperate with requests for help received from Brazilian authorities investigating the attack” of January 8. Bolsonaro's name is mentioned 13 times in the text.
The former Brazilian president has been in Orlando, Florida, since December 30, 2022. The most likely is that he entered with an official visa and is now applying for a tourist visa, which could give him the right to extend stay for six months. Bolsonaro is the target of lawsuits in Brazil that could result in his ineligibility. In the most recent episode, he was cited by Senator Marcos do Val as part of a plot aimed at fabricating false accusations against the president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), Alexandre de Moraes, with the aim of challenging the 2022 elections, removing Lula out of the dispute and remaining illegally in power.
OTHER ACTIONS
On Wednesday (2), a similar resolution had already been approved in the Senate, under the leadership of Democrat Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, who gathered signatures from eight other colleagues to present his proposal. It urges the Justice Department to hold accountable "any Florida-based actors who may have funded or supported the January 8 violent crimes."
On January 11, a group of US congressmen had already delivered a letter to Biden, asking that Bolsonaro be investigated for possible involvement with attacks on democracy in Brazil. They asked Biden to revoke any diplomatic visa Bolsonaro may have had. The WBO (Washington Brazil Office) is one of the organizations that participated in the initiative.
“The demonstrations of solidarity with Brazil, after the anti-democratic attacks of January 8, are very important. The similarities between the attacks on January 6, 2021, in the Capitol, and on January 8, 2023, in Brasília, show that the fight against extreme right-wing extremism is global. We hope that the US will continue to make efforts to fully support Brazilian democracy,” said Paulo Abrão, executive director of the WBO (Washington Brazil Office).
The WBO was directly involved in articulating the letter delivered by US congressmen to Biden, on January 11, and also in the presentation of the resolution proposed by Cicilline, Meeks and Castro this Wednesday (8). Throughout the entire election campaign – and even before it – the organization was engaged in similar initiatives to protect and internationally strengthen democracy in Brazil.
A copy of the resolution is available here.
