US elections: the two notable world leaders who did not congratulate Joe Biden

Among world leaders who were quick to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the United States elections, there were two notable reluctances: the leaders of the two largest countries in Latin America, both considered friends of President Donald Trump.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, sometimes dubbed “the Trump of the tropics” for his populist and informal style, has been silent on Trump’s defeat. And Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declined to congratulate Biden at this time, saying he would wait until the legal challenges to the vote were resolved.

Trump and the two Latino leaders are united by some superficial similarities: They do not like to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, and all three can loosely describe themselves as populists and nationalists.

But the motives of the two Latino leaders may differ.

Bolsonaro and his sons, who like Trump’s sons play a role on the political scene, appear to be actively uncomfortable with the outcome of the US race. Bolsonaro, who previously expressed hope for Trump’s re-election and whose son wore hats with the “Trump 2020” logo, has been largely silent this week, but his children have not.

Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro posted images on social media questioning how Biden’s votes rose so rapidly in subsequent counts, while Trump’s did not. The young Bolsonaro also questioned the decision of the networks to cut Trump’s speech on Wednesday citing electoral fraud, calling it an attack on freedom of expression.

A senior official at the Brazilian Embassy in the United States, who cannot be identified for fear of retaliation, said Brazilian officials fear that loose talks by Bolsonaro or his sons could destabilize relations between countries.

Officials in the presidential office, who were not authorized to speak officially, said Bolsonaro has been adopting a more pragmatic tone, at least since Wednesday, following the guidance of his advisers.

Earlier in the week, some of the more ideological elements in Bolsonaro’s office believed in a Trump victory, but diplomatic staff have since contacted Biden’s campaign.

Meanwhile, López Obrador’s cordial relationship with Trump was often considered unusual for a leftist politician, but it had a professional base.

In part, that’s political realism: In 2019, Trump threatened to apply crippling tariffs on Mexican goods unless López Obrador cracked down on Central American migrants crossing Mexico to reach the U.S. border.

Mexico obeyed, reuniting the migrants and taking them by bus back to their home countries, but there were also moments of apparent real friendship between the two. On Saturday, López Obrador was one of the few world leaders still willing to praise Trump.

“President Trump has been very respectful to us and we have reached very good agreements, and we thank him because he has not meddled and has respected us,” said López Obrador.

And López Obrador infuriated many at home and in the United States Democratic Party when he made his first, and so far only, trip abroad as president over the summer to meet with Trump and celebrate the enactment of the new free trade agreement between states. States, Mexico and Canada. , which both leaders saw as a solution to the problems of the old North American Free Trade Agreement of the 1990s.

López Obrador did not meet with Biden or his campaign team during that trip, and the injuries are apparently still there, despite the Mexican president saying he knows Biden and had “very good relations” with him.

Congressman Joaquín Castro, a Democratic congressman for the 20th District of Texas, wrote in Spanish on his Twitter account that the lack of will to congratulate Biden “represents a true diplomatic failure on the part of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at a time when that the incoming Biden Administration seeks to start a new era of friendship and cooperation with Mexico. “

Representative Jesus Garcia, a Democrat from Illinois’ fourth district, wrote in a similar line to Lopez Obrador that “American voters have spoken and Joe Biden is our president-elect. He won fairly. Don’t lose the boat.”

Democrats are unlikely to be as vindictive to Mexico as the Trump administration once appeared to be, with its focus on building a border wall and threats to punish tariffs. But a Biden administration that only quietly pressures Mexico to limit migrant crossings could leave López Obrador in a more uncomfortable position.

Mexico was easily able to crack down on migrant caravans in 2019 and 2020 because appeasing overt pressure from the United States is quite understandable, albeit unpleasant at home; But asking Mexico to do so without overt threats would be politically more costly for López Obrador.

The Mexican president may fear retaliation in the short time Trump has left in office, but his inability to mend hurt feelings with Biden’s team is already exposing López Obrador to criticism at home.

“To quote (the Mexican singer) Juan Gabriel, ‘What do you win?” The newspaper El Universal said in an editorial on Sunday.

“Donald Trump will be president for two more months, but Joe Biden will be president for four more years! And we have already started this relationship on the wrong foot.”

The former US ambassador to Mexico, Antonio Garza, disagreed.

“It seems a bit clunky, and maybe an early missed opportunity. But by opening day it will hardly matter,” he said. Garza, now an attorney for the White & Case law firm in Mexico City, wrote that he is “convinced that the Biden administration will be committed to strong relationships with the United States’ neighbors, and that given the importance of Canada and Mexico to the trade, immigration and security that the focus will be on addressing these issues in a cooperative manner. “

“Look,” he added, “there are just too many other hot spots in the world for our next president to be sweating this misstep.”