Why hasn’t Jair Bolsonaro congratulated Joe Biden yet?

President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party) is in “noisy silence” regarding the election of Democrat Joe Biden to the US presidency. Neither the Palácio do Planalto nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke about the American election. The stance, say interlocutors, was adopted prudently, since some states had not yet officially finalized the vote count.

Despite not commenting on the outcome of the American election, Bolsonaro is not a recluse. He has normally used his social networks and even had a live of about thirty minutes, in which he dealt with the situation in Amapá and talked about the elections next week without any mention of Biden’s victory.

This silence isolates Brazil at the international level, since countless leaders and heads of state have already recognized Biden’s victory, even some who had alignment with the Donald Trump administration, as is the case of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Also weighing on Bolsonaro’s silence is the fact that Trump did not recognize defeat. The current American president went to Twitter to claim that he won the election, as he has 71 million votes and says his observers were prevented from tracking the vote count.

But other leaders in Brazil have already spoken out and congratulated Biden. This is the case of Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), president of the Chamber of Deputies and the first to speak out. Besides him, Luís Roberto Barroso, president of the TSE and minister of the STF, also commented on the result. In common, both praised the democratic process and values.

“JoeBiden’s victory restores the values ​​of truly liberal democracy, which values ​​human, individual and minority rights. I congratulate the elected president and, on behalf of the Chamber of Deputies, I reinforce the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two nations, ”wrote Maia on his Twitter.

Barroso’s message, also on Twitter, followed the same line. “Democracy means clean elections, alternation in power and respect for results. And also, civility. Greetings Joe Biden, President-elect of the United States, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman elected to the position in the country, ”he wrote.

Bolsonaro’s silence contrasts with the president’s style

According to Planalto sources, Bolsonaro reacted “calmly” to the result and stressed that he will wait for a “concrete picture” to speak out. Also according to members of the government, the president considers any pronouncement a rush and will wait for the end of the lawsuits filed by Trump, who does not recognize the defeat and disputes the result alleging, without evidence, that there is fraud in the judicial process.

Bolsonaro’s silence is not linked to an expectation of a turnaround at the polls, but to a “prudence” that the press, a frequent target of attacks by Trump and Bolsonaro, has been wrong. But this movement contrasts with the style of the president, who often uses social media to counter or congratulate opponents.

This was the case, for example, on September 30, when Biden criticized the preservation of the Amazon and threatened economic sanctions on the Brazilian government. Bolsonaro did not take long to hit the Democrat on the networks.

As other presidents congratulate the elected in the USA

It is common for heads of government to demonstrate soon after a country reaches the result of the presidential elections. Some of the first were Canada’s prime ministers, Justin Trudeau of Germany, Angela Merkel, France’s president, Emmanuel Macronm and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Everyone used their social networks.

The time to speak is a foreign policy decision by the Planalto Palace. And it usually varies from president to president. In 2000, when the American election also went through a challenge in court and a recount of votes, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) only sent a letter to the Republican George W. Bush, winner, 36 days after the vote, in December. Bush had defeated Al Gore, a Democrat in succession to Bill Clinton, of whom FHC was a friend.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in 2008, called Barack Obama on the same day as the result was announced. The American president-elect returned days later and they talked for 15 minutes. In turn, Michel Temer, in 2016, preferred to congratulate with a telegram.

According to the report, as soon as Bolsonaro decides, the Presidency is ready to make contact with the winner. But it is not ruled out that Bolsonaro manifest only by Twitter. The Chief Executive can also determine that the contact is made by the Brazilian ambassador to the United States Nestor Foster.