Brazil’s Bolsonaro embraced the U.S. under Trump. Now he’s in ‘solidarity’ with Russia.
Washington PostFeb 16, 2022
Putin Meets with Brazil's Bolsonaro
Image copyright: Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool/Sputnik/Reuters [via Washington Post]
The Facts
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Brazilian leader Jair Bolsanaro for in-person talks in Moscow this week.
The summit was staged as Russian soldiers remained positioned at the Ukraine border, and as the leaders of Western nations and Brazilians alike urged Bolsanaro to cancel.
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
This is precisely the kind of personalistic politics that authoritarian leaders relish. Bolsanaro embraced Trump for the same reasons. Now that the world's democracies have closed ranks against Putin, he's reached out and found a pliable ally in Bolsanaro, who in turn is looking to legitimize himself on the world stage.
Pro-Russia narrative
Bolsanaro's visit to Europe will allow the Brazilian leader to interface with strong leaders who share similar values, including Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Polish President Andrzej Duda. These are values shared by the former US President Trump as well, and which are repudiated by radical leftists combined with Big Tech and international media conglomerates.
