Month: January 2023

On Sunday, the White House joined France, Spain and Portugal in expressing support for Brazilian President Lula da Silva amid an ongoing riot at the capitol in Brasilia. Hundreds of supporters of Brazil’s right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s Congress, Supreme Court and Planalto Presidential Palace on Sunday to protest the election of Lula and calling for a military intervention to overthrow him, earning the rebuke from world nations. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Twitter: “The United States condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil. President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence.”

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the president of Portugal, spoke by telephone with Lula after the riot broke out. A readout provided by the Portuguese government said: “The President of the Republic considers that these acts, in addition to being unconstitutional and illegal, are inadmissible and intolerable in a democracy, reinforcing Portugal’s support and total solidarity with the legitimately elected power in Brazil.”

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, tweeted a message of support to Lula and said Spain “strongly condemns the assault on the Brazilian Congress … We support the democratic government elected at the polls. We condemn the actions of groups that oppose legitimate results.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement that the “will of the Brazilian people and the democratic institutions must be respected” and added that Lula “can count on the unwavering support of France.”

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President Joe Biden traveled to El Paso, Texas, on Sunday in  his first trip to the border since taking office, in order to assess enforcement operations at the U.S.-Mexico border. The trip comes just days after the White House announced new restrictions on asylum seekers amid record numbers of migrants attempting to cross into the U.S., and amid repeated Republican criticism of the president for not traveling to the southern border sooner.

During his visit, Biden assessed enforcement operations at the busiest port in El Paso — the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry — which recently received $600 million through the bipartisan infrastructure law. He was joined on his visit by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Texas Democratic Reps. Veronica Escobar, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez; and community and business leaders, including El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego. Biden also visited the El Paso County Migrant Services Center and met with community leaders, including those of religious groups and nonprofit organizations that have helped manage the surge of migrants.

Biden was also greeted by the members of Congress and other officials, including Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who handed the president a letter demanding he take further enforcement actions at the border. According to a copy of the letter provided by the Texas governor’s office, the demands included that Biden work to detain, prosecute and remove more migrants under current federal laws and resume border wall construction, which the president largely halted after taking office.

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