Trump bonds with Brazil's Bolsonaro in White House visit

Source: France 24

March 19, 2019 at 22:54

Kevin Lamarque, Reuters | Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and US President Donald Trump exchange football jerseys of their respective national teams in the Oval Office of the White House on March 19, 2019.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazil’s new far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro forged a bond over their shared brand of conservative and populist politics on Tuesday, with Trump pledging to give more U.S. support to Brazil’s global ambitions.

In a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden, Trump said he told Bolsonaro he would designate Brazil a major non-NATO ally and possibly go further by supporting a campaign to make Brazil “maybe a NATO ally.”

“A strong and thriving friendship between the United States and Brazil is essential to a future of security and prosperity for all of our citizens.” pic.twitter.com/jNqw2jjGXd
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 19, 2019

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who rode to the presidency with a brash, anti-establishment campaign modeled on Trump’s 2016 run, has declared himself an unabashed admirer of the U.S. president and the American way of life.

He praised Trump for changing the United States in a way he said he hopes to change Brazil.

“Brazil and the United States are tied by the guarantee of liberty, respect for the traditional family, the fear of God our creator, against gender identity, political correctness and fake news,” Bolsonaro said, touching on themes that have inflamed his critics in Brazil.

Nicknamed the ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ Bolsonaro has moved quickly to ally Brazil closer to the United States. That represents a change in diplomatic priorities after over a decade of leftist party rule that had seen Brazil forging closer ties with regional allies.

Trump's biggest fan? Bolsonaro breaks with Brazil's non-aligned past https://t.co/wl3Aj1w8mf pic.twitter.com/EUPd39YlVJ
— The Debate – France 24 (@F24Debate) March 19, 2019

At Tuesday’s news conference, the two presidents repeatedly rejected socialism, celebrating their joint efforts to oust Venezuela’s left-wing leader, Nicolas Maduro.

They showed an easy rapport, exchanging soccer jerseys from their national teams at the outset of their meeting in the Oval Office, with Trump’s name emblazoned on Brazil’s famous yellow shirt and Bolsonaro’s on the USA uniform.

Trade promises

As leaders of the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere, Trump and Bolsonaro also discussed how to increase trade and committed to reducing barriers.

“Brazil makes great product and we make great product, and our trade has been never as good as it should be in the past. And in some cases it should be far, far more,” Trump said.

Looming over their discussion was the fact that China, currently embroiled in a trade war with the United States, has eclipsed America in both trade and investment with Brazil.

Bolsonaro’s Economy Minister, Paulo Guedes, on Monday urged the United States to open its market more to Brazil if it wanted to change the status quo.

Trump also said he supported Brazil’s efforts to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a club of wealthier nations sharing best practices on economic policy.

But U.S. support would not come for free, according to Guedes. To get a U.S. endorsement for the OECD, the Americans asked Brazil to give up some benefits at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Guedes told journalists earlier on Tuesday, discussing his meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Trump uses Rose Garden press conference with Bolsonaro to announce he will designate Brazil a major non-NATO ally. Then goes on to float the possibility of Brazil becoming a full NATO ally. pic.twitter.com/JBM2yVAEZB
— Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) March 19, 2019

Making Brazil a “major non-NATO ally” implies a status upgrade that gives a country preferential access to the purchase of U.S. military equipment and technology.

Supporting Brazil for an association with NATO would be a considerable step further, one that Trump recognized would mean he would “have to talk to a lot of people.”

Colombia became in 2018 the only Latin American nation to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as a “global partner,” which means it will not necessarily have to take part in military action.

Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, Bolsonaro waived a visa requirement for U.S. visitors to Brazil and in a Fox News interview threw his weight behind Trump’s immigration agenda, which includes a wall on the Mexican border.

“We do agree with President Trump’s decision or proposal on the wall,” Bolsonaro said, in remarks translated to English by the broadcaster. “The vast majority of potential immigrants do not have good intentions. They do not intend to do the best or do good to the U.S. people.”

(REUTERS)