Democratic lawmakers demand Biden cancel Bolsonaro’s visa after riots in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO — A group of 46 Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. sent a letter to President Biden on Thursday demanding former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s diplomatic visa be canceled over the rampage in Brazil’s capital by Bolsonaro’s supporters.
“We request that you reassess his status in the country to ascertain whether there is a legal basis for his stay and revoke any such diplomatic visa he may hold,” the letter said.
It continued: “The United States must not provide shelter for him, or any authoritarian who has inspired such violence against democratic institutions.”
The letter was led by Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas, Gregory W. Meeks of New York, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Jesús “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania.
It isn’t clear what sort of visa Bolsonaro used to enter the United States on Dec. 30, just before the end of his presidential term. He is staying in a home outside Orlando, Fla., and video has shown him snapping photos with supporters in the gated community and visiting a supermarket.
Asked about Bolsonaro’s entry, State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to provide specifics about the former president’s visa status, citing privacy concerns. He said, however, that anyone entering the United States on a so-called A-1 visa reserved for sitting heads of state would have 30 days to either leave the country or adjust their status with the Department of Homeland Security upon conclusion of their term of office.
Before his supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro slipped away to Orlando, where he is reported to be staying.
Many of Bolsonaro’s die-hard supporters have falsely claimed Brazil’s Oct. 30 election was fraudulent. After leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s victory, they began blocking highways nationwide and camping outside army buildings, demanding military intervention to overturn the election and keep Bolsonaro in power.
Then on Sunday, they trashed the Congress and supreme court buildings and the presidential palace.
The U.S. lawmakers’ letter contend that Bolsonaro is responsible for the mayhem, citing his claims that voting machines were susceptible to fraud and the fact that he has not conceded defeat or asked his supporters to respect the results.
In an echo of Jan. 6 in the U.S., thousands of demonstrators invaded the three buildings, with some calling on the military to intervene in politics.
Instead, Bolsonaro and his party petitioned the electoral authority to nullify millions of votes cast on the majority of voting machines that featured a software bug. The request didn’t say how the bug might affect results, and independent experts said it would not undermine reliability in any way.
The electoral authority’s president swiftly dismissed the request and imposed a multimillion-dollar fine on the party for what he called a bad-faith effort.
“The unlawful and violent attack on January 8 against Brazilian government institutions was built upon months of pre- and post-election fabrications by Mr. Bolsonaro and his
allies,” the U.S. lawmakers said in the letter.
After the attack, Bolsonaro said on Twitter that peaceful protests form part of democracy, but that destroying public buildings crosses the line.
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