00:00Let's continue in Brazil, but on this occasion, let's go with the different denunciations of foreign interference that are taking
00:06place and have been taking place throughout the electoral campaign and are shaping the pre-relation landscape.
00:10So for that, let's welcome our special envoy, Belém de los Santos, who is live in Rio. Welcome, Belém, from
00:15the south.
00:17Hello, Luis. How are you? Yes, I was listening closely to your interview right now.
00:22So many topics to really understand what is happening in Brazil.
00:25And also, as we have been saying this time and time again, the importance that this election also has in
00:33the region, because, of course, of the significant relevance of Brazil in terms of the economy, for example, the way
00:41it has in terms of positioning the whole region politically as well.
00:47Let's recall that we're not talking about the largest country in terms of its economy and the region, but also
00:54an important player at the world scene, being an important country within the BRICS, for example.
01:00So everything is interconnected here. And we wanted to talk a little bit more about the role that the United
01:07States is playing in this election as well.
01:09You know that just in the last seven days, the congressmen and women from the U.S., particularly Democrat congressmen
01:18and women, issued two letters that were addressed to the Secretary of State.
01:23First of all, denouncing the different mechanisms in which the United States was leading, as they said, a campaign of
01:32pressure and destabilization in the midst of the Brazilian elections.
01:37And they were targeting this at the administration of Trump, just listing a series of evidence and also demanding answers
01:46and explanations for why this is the case.
01:49The evidence went from the imposed sanctions in Paris related to internal affairs, for example, the pressure regarding the current
01:57process and the term in prison that the former president Jair Bolsonaro is facing at this moment.
02:05But also, for example, the designation as foreign terrorist organizations for the Comando Vermelho and another criminal organization.
02:15And this is being put in place as a way of interfering directly in an internal matter.
02:22So crucial as security is in Brazil, for example, more of this if we add it and we put it
02:29in the context of the United States using the excuse,
02:34the pretext of drug trafficking or alleged drug trafficking as a way of increasing its intervention and its position in
02:43the region.
02:43So, of course, for example, in terms of this designation, it was really motivated and requested by the Bolsonaro's side.
02:51It was actually announced just hours away from a visit that Flavio Bolsonaro had to president of the United States,
03:01Donald Trump.
03:02And it was a way of not only showing support to one side, but also showing a particular interest of
03:08the United States interfering in the way that Brazil handles such a crucial topic as is the one of security.
03:16So all of these points were listed in this letters that once again were not issued from Brazil, but from
03:24the congressmen and women from the United States themselves that were addressing their own government and saying,
03:30hey, this goes against the normal policies of how states should behave in the face of the electoral process of
03:39another country.
03:40Why is this happening?
03:41And we are concerned that this could lead to destabilization process.
03:47Let's recall as well, Luis, that we have to take into consideration the precedence both in Brazil and the United
03:55States when after Donald Trump lost his election after his first term and after Bolsonaro lost his re-election after
04:04his first term,
04:05both movements rejected the results and assaulted the electoral institutions calling for fraud.
04:14So what people are seeing in international analysts is we are in a new context in which if such a
04:21situation were to be repeated,
04:23now Brazil has the backing factor of the major power with Donald Trump in the White House sort of leading
04:31this speech and actions against the Brazilian institutions.
04:36This is important.
04:37It's not just a way of, it's not a formality of international law, the respect of electoral process.
04:43It also has to do with the United States using, once again, an electoral process in the region in order
04:51to further their political agenda.
04:54Exactly because we don't have time for much, the denunciation of foreign interference has been a recurring theme in this
05:00electoral process.
05:01How are you seeing the Brazilian electoral institutions and authorities tackling this issue and protecting the sovereignty of the electoral
05:08process in Brazil?
05:12Of course, well, again, it's a very complex matter because what do you do when a foreign power is just
05:18directly intervening and saying what they would like the outcome to be,
05:22what economic consequences that could have or not, imposing sanctions in one way or another?
05:27What can the internal institutions do?
05:29Well, for this time, what they're doing is they're strengthening the need to support the Brazilian's own institutions, the electoral
05:37court in this matter,
05:38the importance of maintaining the legitimacy of the national institutions and, for example, the all abroad call to respect the
05:48results.
05:48And that is going to be the call for legitimacy for the entire democratic process.
05:54That is very important.
05:55And that is what people are concerned that this intervention from the United States could undermine.
06:01Thank you, Belen, for your information coming from Rio de Janeiro on the Brazilian electoral process.
06:06We're going to stay in touch in upcoming news, of course, to have more details of what is happening in
06:10Brazil.
06:10Let's see.
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