Congressmen ask Biden to cancel Bolsonaro’s visa

A group of 46 Democratic legislators from the United States requested this Thursday in a letter to President Joe Biden to cancel the diplomatic visa of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro following the assault in Brasilia on State institutions by his supporters.

“We request that you reassess his (Bolsonaro’s) status in the country to determine if there are legal grounds for his stay and revoke any type of diplomatic visa he may have,” the letter says.

It adds that “the United States should not provide refuge to him or any other authoritarian who has inspired violence against democratic institutions.”

The letter is headed by representatives Joaquín Castro of Texas, Gregory Meeks of New York, Rubén Gallego of Arizona, Chuy Garcia of Illinois and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania.

It is not clear which visa Bolsonaro used to enter the US on December 30, one day before the end of his presidential term. He is currently in a home outside of Orlando, Florida, and a video showed him taking photos with supporters in the gated community and walking into a supermarket.

Asked about Bolsonaro’s entry, State Department spokesman Ned Price on Monday declined to provide details about the visa, citing privacy concerns.

However, he pointed out that everyone who enters the US with a visa called A-1 reserved for acting heads of state has 30 days to leave the country or adjust their status with the Department of Homeland Security at the end of their term.

After the October 30 election, many of Bolsonaro’s staunchest supporters denounced fraud. Many blocked roads throughout Brazil and began to camp outside military buildings, demanding the intervention of the army to keep Bolsonaro in power.

Last Sunday, they raided the facilities of Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace in Brasilia.

The lawmakers’ letter suggests Bolsonaro is responsible for the riots, citing his persistent allegations that voting machines were susceptible to fraud and never conceded defeat nor did he ask his supporters to respect the results.

Instead, Bolsonaro and his party they asked the electoral authority to void millions of votes cast on machines that suffered a software bug. The petition did not specify how that error could have affected the results, while independent experts reaffirmed the validity of the teams.

The electoral authority promptly dismissed the lawsuit and imposed a multimillion-dollar fine on Bolsonaro’s party for what it called a bad faith effort.

“The violent and illegal attack on January 8 against Brazilian government institutions was brewing after months of fabrication before and after the election by Mr. Bolsonaro and his allies,” the lawmakers said in their letter.

After the attacks, Bolsonaro said on Twitter that peaceful protests are part of democracy, but destroying public buildings crosses all boundaries.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and instagram.