[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 118 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H3181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  BRAZIL UNDERMINED THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Santos) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SANTOS. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to address a grave concern 
about our relationship with Brazil. This nation, which holds non-NATO 
ally status with the United States, has constantly undermined us in 
recent years in ways that warrant our undivided attention.
  Just recently, the former convicted criminal and now reinstated 
President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, hosted 
and praised the infamous dictator Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela.
  Lula's actions have legitimized a man who is currently sought by the 
U.S. Department of Justice for narcoterrorism, a man who, because of 
his alleged humanitarian crimes, cannot even set foot on U.S. soil 
without fear of arrest. In addition, Lula has publicly criticized the 
United States for support to Ukraine and has even suggested that our 
Nation is purposely prolonging the war for commercial interests.
  This is the same leader who has actively sought to undermine U.S. 
currency through their BRICS agreements with Russia and China and who 
maintains strong ties with the Chinese Communist Party.
  Madam Speaker, Brazil is not a minority player on the world stage. It 
is the largest economy in South America and the 10th largest globally, 
the 4th largest food producer in the world, the 2nd largest producer of 
iron ore, and a significant player in the energy sector. It holds 
strategic importance in the Southern Hemisphere, a fact that the CCP 
seems to understand better than us.
  We should be working to forge stronger ties with Brazil, encouraging 
it toward democratic and capitalist values rather than standing by as 
it deepens its ties with communistic and autocratic regimes around the 
globe.
  Brazil's growing alignment with the Chinese authoritarian government 
is already yielding dangerous impacts on its democracy. Even mainstream 
USA media outlets' reports are showing an unsettling trend: a rise in 
state-sanctioned actions against free speech, free press, and civil 
liberties in Brazil. Increasingly, the country's judicial system is 
being weaponized, and censorship is on the rise.
  We must take decisive action to condemn Brazil's current engagement 
in suppressing civil liberties, its deepening ties with authoritarian 
regimes, and the serious risk this trend poses to Western democracies.
  Madam Speaker, as the first Brazilian American elected to this House, 
I implore all my colleagues to treat this matter with the urgency it 
deserves. It is a matter that affects not only America but the free 
world as a whole.

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