[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4908-S4909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
S. Res. 753
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I rise today to say a few words about the
state of democracy, both in terms of the upcoming election in Brazil as
well as here in the United States.
It is no great secret that, today, democracies around the world are
under great threat from rightwing extremism. That obviously includes
our own, as we all saw tragically on January 6, 2021, when there was an
attack on this very building by those seeking to overturn our
Presidential election.
One of the countries where democracy is now under threat is Brazil,
the largest nation in Latin America and one of the largest democratic
countries in the world. On October 2, less than 2 weeks from now,
Brazil will hold its Presidential election. According to many polls, it
appears that the two major candidates in that election are President
Jair Bolsonaro and former President Lula da Silva. If no candidate in
that election receives over 50 percent of the vote, there will be a
runoff election between the top two candidates on October 30.
Mr. President, over the past many months, Brazilians from all sectors
of society have publicly expressed serious concerns about ongoing
efforts in that country to undermine democracy, including close to 1
million Brazilians who signed an open letter released on July 26, 2022,
defending the democratic institutions of Brazil and the rule of law.
And there is, in fact, a very good reason as to why the people in
Brazil are concerned about their democracy, and that is that the
current President and candidate for reelection, Jair Bolsonaro, has
made some very provocative statements which suggest that he might not
accept the election results if he loses. In other words, Bolsonaro
might attempt to destroy Brazilian democracy and remain in power no
matter what the people of Brazil determine in a free and democratic
election.
Here are just a few examples of what Mr. Bolsonaro has said over the
years.
Back in September 2018, before he won his election, Bolsonaro stated:
I will not accept an election result that is not my own
victory.
On September 7, 2021, as reported by the Financial Times, Bolsonaro
stated:
There are those who think they can take me from the
presidency with the mark of a pen. Well, I say to everyone I
have only three possible fates: Arrest, death or victory. And
tell the bastards I'll never be arrested. Only God can take
me from the presidency.
According to Human Rights Watch, previously, President Bolsonaro had
claimed, without providing any evidence, that the last two Presidential
elections were fraudulent, including his own election, in which he
claimed he got more votes than the final tally showed.
But it is not just Bolsonaro's words that should be of concern to
those of us who still believe in democracy. According to a recent
survey by the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
is experiencing a 335-percent increase in violence directed against
political leaders in 2022 relative to 2019.
Mr. President, it is obviously not the business of the United States
to determine who the next President of Brazil is or to get involved in
Brazil's Presidential elections in any way. That is a decision to be
made solely by the people of Brazil through a fair and free election.
But it is the business of the United States to make clear to the people
of Brazil that our government will not recognize or support a
government that comes to power through a military coup or the
undermining of a democratic election. That is our business.
In that regard, Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to support a
resolution
[[Page S4909]]
that I have introduced with Senator Kaine, S. Res. 753. And Senator
Kaine, of course, is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and that is also cosponsored by
Senators Leahy, Merkley, Blumenthal, and Warren.
This resolution is very simple and straightforward. It does not take
sides in Brazil's election, obviously, and that would be unacceptable.
But what it does do is express the sense of the U.S. Senate that the
U.S. Government will make it unequivocally clear that the continuing
relationship of the United States and Brazil depends upon the
commitment of the government of Brazil to democracy and human rights.
This resolution urges the Biden administration to make clear that the
United States will not support any government that comes to power in
Brazil through undemocratic means and to ensure U.S. security
assistance to Brazil remains compliant with our laws related to the
peaceful and democratic transition of power--in other words, no
military aid to a military coup in Brazil.
This does not seem to be a complicated or, in my view, controversial
piece of legislation. Yet--and I say this with a great deal of sadness,
and maybe it tells us the state of democracy in the United States--we
have not been able to get one single Republican to cosponsor this very
simple, straightforward resolution.
Why is that? And the answer is, I would love for my Republican
colleagues to explain to me why they cannot support and add their names
to a resolution that simply supports Brazil's democracy and the
peaceful transfer of power. Obviously, it would be most effective if
this resolution had bipartisan support, and I hope that it will.
Mr. President, in my view, it is imperative that the U.S. Senate make
it clear through this resolution that we support democracy in Brazil.
It would be unacceptable to the United States to recognize a government
that came to power undemocratically; and, if we did that, it would send
a horrific message to the entire world. So it is important for the
people of Brazil to know that we are on their side.
We are on the side of democracy, and that is what this resolution is
about. I ask my colleagues, in a bipartisan way, to support it.
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