US Senate approves resolution calling for free elections in Brazil and repudiates coup

The document expresses the Senate's stance and recommendation to the White House and, although it does not have the force of law, it is yet another movement towards alerting the US to the risks to democracy in Brazil. As a backdrop, constant attacks on the Brazilian electoral system, mainly by President Jair Bolsonaro, who alleges electoral fraud, which has never been proven.

Introduced earlier this month in the Senate and in a similar move in the US House, the resolution was led by Senators Bernie Sanders and Tim Kaine, who is chairman of the Congressional Foreign Relations Subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere. No senator opposed the text, including Republicans.

The text approved today by the US Senate does not mention President Jair Bolsonaro, but emphasizes the recurrence of questionments and attempts to subvert the Brazilian electoral system. It also mentions efforts to incite political violence, encouraging the Armed Forces to intervene in the election, the first round of which takes place this Sunday, the 02nd.

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In the week of the elections – which take place on Sunday, October 2nd – the concept “democracy” is present in most newspapers, websites and campaigns. But do you understand what democracy is and why it has been talked about so much lately? O Curto News spoke with researcher at the Center for the Analysis of Freedom and Authoritarianism (Laut) and master's student at USP, Marina Slhessarenko Fraife Barreto, to explain what's behind a democratic government.

“With this vote, the Senate sent a powerful message that we are withpromeWe are committed to embracing the people of Brazil in support of their country's democracy and we remain confident that Brazil's electoral institutions will guarantee a free, fair and transparent vote,” said Kaine, in a press release.

Senator Bernie classified it as “unacceptable” for the US to recognize a government that comes to power in a non-democratic way and stated that, if that happened, it would send a “horrible message” to the world. “It is important that the Brazilian people know that we are on their side, on the side of democracy. With the approval of this resolution, we are sending this message”, reinforced the senator.

The last time Brazil faced political chaos similar to that seen now, in 1964, the United States, under the leadership of Lyndon Johnson, immediately recognized the military's management, which overthrew a democratically elected government.

QuestionYesterday, the 27th, whether the USA will recognize the results of the elections in Brazil immediately, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, did not want toprometer before the election, but condemned acts of violence and reaffirmed confidence in the Brazilian electoral system, as the North American government had previously signaled.

Nothing above it: what is a Constitution?

In this election period, there is nothing better than understanding our rights and duties. You may have heard that something is “unconstitutional” or that “it is guaranteed by the Constitution”. But after all, what is the Constitution?

“We have to trust in the strength of Brazilian democratic institutions… We will continue to closely monitor the elections with full expectation that the elections will be conducted in a free, fair, transparent and reliable manner,” he told reporters in Washington.

Last week, the new US State Department spokesperson for Portuguese-speaking countries, Christopher Johnson, emphasized the importance of recognizing the will of the people, but also did not want to anticipate the results of the polls. “It is important to recognize the will of the people. So I can't speak until those results come in. But we will pay attention to the results”, said the diplomat, in an interview, during the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

(Estadão Conteúdo)