Brazil denies visas to US envoys seeking to cast doubt on election system

Brazil denied visa requests for two US officials from the Trump administration who planned to travel to the country to cast doubt on its electoral system, according to Brazilian officials. The rejection was based on evidence of a renewed attempt to undermine the electoral system ahead of Brazil's October presidential election between leftist incumbent Lula and right-leaning Flavio Bolsonaro.

Brazil has denied visa requests for two US officials from the Trump administration who planned to travel to the country to cast doubt on the integrity of its electoral system, two Brazilian officials told Reuters on Saturday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US plan represented an attempt to shape Brazil's October presidential election, in which leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will face right-leaning Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, a Trump ally and son of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil denied the visa requests on Friday for Assistant Secretary Riley M. Barnes from the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Samuel Samson. The rejection was based on "evidence pointing to a renewed attempt to politically exploit the situation and undermine the electoral system," one official said. The US State Department later said the visit was routine and rejected any suggestion of a ploy to undermine Brazil's elections. The article notes that Jair Bolsonaro previously sought to undermine confidence in Brazil's electoral system before the 2022 election, and was later convicted for plotting to overturn the result. Flavio Bolsonaro has reignited doubts over the electoral system, urging foreign observers and claiming voting machines were supplied by Smartmatic, which both Smartmatic and Brazil's electoral court denied.