Not last sunday (19/12/2021) the new Chilean president was elected. After a fierce dispute between a leftist and a rightist, the victor was Gabriel Boric, Left deputy and former student leader. The elections were marred by problems such as the difficulty of public transport for people to vote, leading city halls to make official cars available so that people could vote. Side-by-side accusations of responsibility and impact on the election result were fired. However, the result was accepted by all.
This case is just one more example of the differences between democratic processes found around the world.. Not only are the game rules valid in each country, there are also local conditions and their singularities. It's hard for us to make judgments from the outside, which makes it even more difficult to conduct an impartial foreign policy. Bearing in mind that foreign policy must be state policy (therefore seeking a formal and lasting relationship with other States) and not government (therefore not focused on personal relationships and wishes of how the other state should be), the Brazilian situation becomes delicate.
As in other cases, President Bolsonaro did not like the result of the Chilean elections, where he expected the victory of the rightist José Antonio Kast. As a result, Bolsonaro has not yet filed compliance with the new elected president. This is not a new behavior., as seen in the case of the United States, when the president took 37 days to greet then-elect Joe Biden. Harsh criticisms of Nicaragua and President-elect Daniel Ortega were made. Already in 2019 the same happened with the president-elect in Argentina, Alberto Fernandez.
It should be noted that this is not just a formality., it is the recognition of the government of another country, with which we must maintain relations. Brazilian foreign policy is one of its pillars, rightly, the principle of non-intervention. The idea is that Brazil seeks to respect the decisions of other countries. It's not about something philosophical, this principle is interesting for Brazil insofar as it strengthens the defense that other countries cannot interfere in Brazil. Just remember the international waves that seek to strengthen the idea that the Amazon should be internationalized given Brazil's inability to preserve it.
Like this, defending the principle of non-intervention is fundamental for Brazil. Whether or not you like the election results of other countries, or even the way the electoral process is conducted., the important thing is that we support the countries and their choices..
