According to Observer Network , the results of the second round of voting for the presidential election of Brazil have been released. With 99.40% of the votes, Labor Party presidential candidate Lula narrowly surpassed the current president Bolsonaro and was successfully elected as the new Brazilian president. Official statistics released by the Brazilian High Election Court show that among the counted votes, Lula received 50.9% of the votes and Bolsonaro received 49.1% of the votes. After Lula won the election, U.S. President Biden immediately congratulated him, saying that Lula won the victory in a free, fair and credible election. He congratulated Lula on being elected as Brazil's next president and looked forward to working together in the next few months and years to continue the cooperation between the United States and Brazil. French President Macron also posted on social media platforms, saying that Lula's victory in elections opened a new chapter in Brazil's history. France and Brazil will work together to meet many common challenges and revitalize the friendship between the two countries.
After the results of the leaders' elections in various countries around the world were released, it is rare for Biden to give positive comments directly, and usually he speaks out politely to congratulate him. Moreover, Lula's attitude towards China is relatively friendly. He once said at an international press conference held by São Paulo that he attached great importance to Brazil's relations with China, and pointed out that during his tenure as Brazil's president, the Brazilian government had close contacts with the Chinese government and the two sides established good relations. Lula believes that establishing good relations with China is in Brazil's interests, and we hope that China-Pakistan relations will always be stable. Under such circumstances, while Biden spoke out to congratulate Lula on his victory, he also gave a very positive comment on the Brazilian presidential election, which is somewhat surprising.
As we all know, after the United States adjusted its strategy toward China, it has been suppressing China at various levels, including but not limited to international relations and exchanges. In South America, which has always been regarded as a "back garden" by the United States, a friendly leader to China is about to come to power. Biden immediately acknowledged its rationality, which means that if the United States wants to interfere in related matters in the future, it will lose a relatively "reasonable" excuse.
The reason why Biden supported Lula immediately was because it was a relatively favorable choice for him. Although Bolsonaro, who lost the election this time, prefers the United States, he has the title of "Tropical Trump". He has repeatedly claimed that Brazil's electronic voting system may have been manipulated, and even believes that the system may have been tampered with. This statement is exactly the same as the statement of Trump in the 2020 US election.
If the United States wants to support the pro-US Bolsonaro to take office in this election, it means admitting that there are problems with Brazil's electronic voting system. This may lead to more intense internal struggle between the two parties in the United States. After all, when Biden came to power, some Republican members and some American voters also believed that the US voting system was problematic, and there was also an incident of Capitol Hill being hit. So far, the consequences and impacts of the related issues have not subsided.
Therefore, when facing the Brazilian presidential election, Biden could only bite the bullet and make a choice that didn't seem too bad. Whether Lula's victory, which is pro-China, will have an adverse impact on the United States' future strategy of suppressing China is still unknown. And for the Democrats, which are about to face a midterm election, supporting Bolsonaro will almost certainly have a negative impact.
In addition, when Biden delivered his congratulations, he also expressed his intention to show kindness to Lula, hoping that the United States and Brazil can move towards each other in the future. The United States has an unquestionable influence in South America, and the two sides can indeed benefit each other through cooperation. However, most of the cooperation in the United States will have exclusive terms, especially those who like to target China. Judging from Lula's past experience, the United States' wishful thinking is basically unlikely to succeed.
