Mexico, Brazil Leaders Silent As World Congratulates Biden

[appalachiablue]

Source: AP News

MEXICO CITY (AP) — There were two notable holdouts among the world leaders who rushed to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. elections: the leaders of Latin America’s two largest countries, both of whom have been seen as friendly to President Donald Trump.

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, sometimes dubbed “the Trump of the Tropics” for his populist, off-the-cuff style, has kept silent on Trump’s loss. And Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador refused to congratulate Biden at this point, saying he would wait until the legal challenges over the vote were resolved.

Trump and the two Latin leaders are united by some surface similarities: They dislike wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic, and all three can loosely be described as populist and nationalist. But the motives of the two Latin leaders may differ. Bolsonaro and his sons — who like Trump’s children play a role on the political scene — seem to be actively uncomfortable with the outcome of the U.S. race.

Bolsonaro, who previously expressed hope for Trump’s reelection and whose son wore hats with the logo “Trump 2020,” has kept largely silent this week, but his sons haven’t. Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro posted images on social media questioning how Biden’s votes were rising so quickly in later counts, while Trump’s weren’t. The younger Bolsonaro also questioned networks’ decision to cut away from Trump’s speech on Wednesday alleging vote fraud, calling it an attack on freedom of speech...


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-brazil-7a01d7338f850e5df861aac75d45af99

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- Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, the 'Trump of the Tropics.'




- Mexican President Andres Obrador.

[sandensea]

1. Que pasa, AMLO?

Latin America's progressives are almost unanimous in their preference for - and celebration of - Biden's victory.

Why would what's arguably today's leading Latin American progressive figure choose to remain silent instead?

My guess is that he fears retaliation from His Orangeness - which, lest we forget, will still be in the Oval Office another 73 days.

[appalachiablue]

2. Maybe their reluctance is justified, they know a lot more

than the public on this sticky subject. Get it over with.

[sandensea]

3. +1

And we know how vindictive Cheeto can be.

He no doubt wants to avoid any unnecessary problems, while the "threat" persists.

[Judi Lynn]

10. No doubt you're right on AMLO. Glad you mentioned it. He is so different from Bolsonazi. n/t

[sandensea]

11. Thank you, Judi.

Like Argentina's Fernandez, he's pragmatic.

Governing any Latin American country is a colossal challenge as it is, without aggravating U.S presidents unnecessarily.

And with the exception of Cuba, Venezuela and (until recently) Bolivia, Trump seems to have done a fairly good job of restraining himself from being disruptive in the region.

It's sometimes said in the Latin American press, that Trump understands that destabilizing moderate governments in the region risks having a full-blown crisis ensue - creating a vacuum which in all likelihood only extreme left-wing figures would benefit from.

Besides causing U.S. firms invested in those countries very large losses (which is what happened in the early '80s under many of those far-right dictatorships, as you know).

Trump, you see, has experience investing in the region, and is thus fairly well acquainted with these dynamics.

And as always, a little pragmatism never hurts.

[safeinOhio]

4. Waiting on his latest statement

to see how much he still owes for the wall.

[sandensea]

5. Pero, claro!

How could I have forgotten.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

12. My thoughts, as well.

Maybe they're waiting to see whether Trump can find a way to stay in power and don't want to risk appearing unsupportive now lest they be punished later.
Not surprising. It's how Trump does business.

[sandensea]

13. As Cheeto once told Larry King: "I love revenge - it feels great!"

Presidents from these more vulnerable countries would rather play it safe.

It's like that awful uncle at the Thanksgiving table, who weighs 300 lbs. and has a violent temper: everyone pretty much agrees it's best to be careful until he leaves.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

14. Exactly. I understand their position and don't have the big picture regarding their

interactions with Trump. If the last 4 years are any indication of what he's capable of, they may very well have good reason to be silent for now.

[Xipe Totec]

16. Caladito, calladito, cagadito. nt

[doc03]

6. I am waiting for Vicente Fox to make a statement on Trump losing

[Judi Lynn]

8. It would be priceless! Vicente's remarks helped people understand they weren't alone with this! ❤️️

[BlueWavePsych]

7. Duterte (Philippines) congratulates Biden

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday congratulated former Vice President Joseph “Joe” Biden for being elected the 46th President of the United States.

“On behalf of the Filipino nation, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte wishes to extend his warm congratulations to former Vice President Joseph “Joe” Biden on his election as the new President of the United States of America,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/11/08/second-headline/duterte-congratulates-biden/792992/

Hmmm. An expedient populist.

[Judi Lynn]

9. That should warm Trump's heart cavity. n/t

[keithbvadu2]

15. Mexico too busy writing the check.

Mexico too busy writing the check.

[yaesu]

17. I thought Mexico elected a progressive president? nt

[sandensea]

18. Yes - but he doesn't want to anger El Trompudo

"The pouty-faced lout"

[yaesu]

19. Oh ok, I thought maybe something happened to him like the Body Snatchers movie

[sandensea]

20. That does actually sound like Ecuador's Lenin Moreno

Moreno, you'll recall, ran in 2017 on Rafael Correa's center-left ticket, after Correa's very successful decade in office (Moreno had been VP for most of that).

But almost immediately after being sworn in, and after an eloquent speech excoriating the financial fraud crises that had periodically troubled Ecuador before Correa took office in '07, Moreno swung to the right - and hard.

He quickly fell in lockstep behind Trump's neocon Latin America policy, playing a key role in dissolving UNASUR (the regional bloc developed during the 'pink tide' era a decade earlier) and going after Correa and his allies with fabricated notebooks - a possible inspiration for Rudy's "Hunter Biden laptop."

It really was as if Moreno had been replaced with a look-alike - but with an opposite agenda.

Moreno, btw, is poised to lose in 2022 elections to Correa's former Human Resources Minister Andrés Arauz.

I'd avoid falling asleep in strange places if I were Mr. Arauz.

[a la izquierda]

21. They did.

He's been pretty much a colossal failure.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

22. AMLO know Trump will do everything he can to overthrow the US government.

He also knows there are a lot of traitors in our government who are helping helping Trump in his quest.