Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who claimed last month that there was “a lot of fraud” in the 3 November presidential election in the United States, on Tuesday recognised US President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over the Republican incumbent president, Donald Trump.
In a message shared by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, one day after Biden’s White House win was officially confirmed by members of the US Electoral College, Bolsonaro congratulated Biden, offering him his “best wishes”.
“Greetings to President Joe Biden, with my best wishes and the hope that the United States will remain ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’,” Bolsonaro said in his message to the US president-elect.
The Brazilian leader, who has a warm relationship with Trump, declared his readiness to work with the Biden administration and “continue to build a US-Brazil alliance”.
“I will be ready to work with you, Mr. President, and continue to build a US-Brazil alliance, in the defense of sovereignty, democracy and freedom around the world, as well as in the trade and economic integration, to the benefit of our peoples,” Bolsonaro said.
Bolsonaro is considered one of the last world leaders to congratulate President-elect Biden with his victory over Trump.
US policy toward Brazil is widely expected see changes during the Biden administration, especially with regard to trade, human rights, and environmental issues, which are so important and dramatic for Brazil, according to Brazilian scholar Gustavo Guerreiro, executive editor of the journal World Tensions and a member of the Brazilian Centre for Solidarity with Peoples and Struggle for Peace (CEBRAPAZ).
In late November, the Brazilian president claimed that his sources of information had told him that “there really was a lot of fraud” in the 3 November vote in the US, prompting him to hold back “a little more” before recognising Biden as president-elect.
On Monday, members of the US Electoral College officially confirmed Joe Biden’s win over Trump in the nation’s 3 November presidential race. The Democrat received 306 electoral votes, while Trump failed to obtain the 270 electoral votes needed to remain in office.
The incumbent president has not yet conceded what he has continued to insist is Biden’s “stolen” election victory, with the current White House spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, stating on Tuesday that Trump would continue its fight for re-election in the courts.
“The President is still involved in ongoing litigation related to the election. Yesterday's vote was one step in the constitutional process. I will leave it to him and refer you to the campaign for more on that litigation,” McEnany told reporters on Tuesday.