US Head of State Joe Biden sent a message to President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after his victory in the second round of the presidential election in Brazil on Sunday evening (30).

US Head of State Joe Biden sent a message to President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after his victory in the second round of the presidential election in Brazil on Sunday evening (30).

Leandre Felipecorrespond to RFI in Washington

In the note released shortly after Lula’s speech, Biden wrote, “I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his victory in a free, fair and credible election.” Biden also said he looks forward to working with the Brazilian government and maintaining cooperation between the United States and Brazil in the months and years to come. The text was published by the White House.

On Twitter, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke after the announcement of Lula’s victory. The head of the American diplomacy congratulated the Brazilian people for having exercised their right to vote and for having reaffirmed the strength of the country’s democracy.

Like Biden, Blinken said he hoped to continue what he called a strong partnership with President-elect Lula so that together the two countries can work toward building democracy and prosperity in the Americas.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he was also looking forward to working alongside Lula to strengthen the Canada-Brazil partnership. Trudeau said he wants to deliver results for Brazilians and Canadians on priorities such as environmental protection. Lula’s victory over opponent and current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was seeking re-election, was also widely reported by the American press.

quick recognition

Over the past few weeks, Ruling Democratic Party congressmen have called on Joe Biden to recognize Brazil’s election results soonlest Bolsonaro try to question a possible defeat.

The United States is one of Brazil’s largest trading partners, the largest economy in Latin America and the 13th largest in the world by gross domestic product (GDP). According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Brazilian economy is expected to grow by 2.8% in 2022 and 1% in 2024.

The United States and Brazil hold high-level bilateral dialogues on a range of topics including trade and investment, science, technology, and energy priorities. “The relationship between the United States and Brazil is pragmatic and a matter of state, no matter who is in power,” Valentina Sader, associate director of the Adrienne Arsht Center for Latin America, told AFP. ‘Atlantic Council in Washington.

Sader predicts that Lula will focus on fighting climate change, a topic that coincides with Biden’s green agenda. In his first reaction to São Paulo, Lula assured that he will fight against deforestation because the planet and Brazil need a “living Amazon”. He also addressed the international community, saying that “Brazil is back” and will no longer be a “pariah”, he promised.

(RFI and AFP)