BRASILIA : When U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday, he brought a message from Washington: Don’t mess around with elections.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed that the Biden administration raised concerns over Bolsonaro’s unfounded claims of fraud in Brazil’s all-electronic voting system and his threat not to accept the results of next year’s election if the system is not changed.
The nature of the message delivered by Sullivan was first reported in the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Saturday. It quoted a U.S. official saying Sullivan stressed the importance of not undermining confidence in Brazil’s electoral process, especially given no evidence of fraud in previous elections has been presented.
Bolsonaro has railed for weeks against the electronic machines used in Brazil and pushed for the adoption of printed receipts that can be counted if any election result is disputed.
He has provided no evidence of past fraud or current vulnerabilities. The president has vociferously attacked a Supreme Court justice for publicly doubting his unfounded claims and for saying the system could be audited.
USN
