Bolsonaro Win Could Strengthen Brazil-US Relations

 

Jair Bolsonaro was elected Sunday to be the next president of Brazil. Results showed that the Social Liberal Party candidate won 55 percent of the vote over Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad.

His presidency¹ may help build stronger relationships between Brazil and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump² called to congratulate Bolsonaro on his victory Sunday night. American officials say Bolsonaro and Trump spoke³ of “a strong commitment to work side-by-side” on issues affecting Brazil, the United States and beyond.

Bolsonaro has been a longtime supporter and fan of Trump.

In July, Bolsonaro said of Trump, “Just like he wants to make America great, I want to make Brazil great.”

Bolsonaro ran a campaign that promised to change what he sees as a corrupt⁴ political system that has forgotten ordinary citizens. His insulting comments about gays, women and minorities have pleased his followers⁵. They think of him as not afraid to speak the truth even when it may offend some people.

Bolsonaro told Reuters last year before his candidacy, “Trump faced the same attacks I am facing - that he was a homophobe, a fascist⁶, a racist⁷, a Nazi⁸. But the people believed in his platform. I was rooting for him.”

Changes on the way

Bolsonaro has already made plans to change Brazilian foreign policy.

Following the lead of the United States, he has said he will move Brazil’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Similar to Trump, Bolsonaro is rethinking his country’s membership in multinational⁹ organizations and agreements. That includes the Mercosur trade group, the BRICS group of large developing economies and the Paris climate agreement.

Those changes would undo¹⁰ 13 years of diplomatic efforts led by the country’s Workers’ Party. Party leaders worked to build relationships with Brazil’s South American neighbors and other developing countries.

Bolsonaro is also questioning Brazil’s relationship with China. China is Brazil’s biggest foreign buyer of soybeans, iron ore and other goods. But Bolsonaro is worried by recent Chinese purchases of Brazilian energy and public service companies.

“The Chinese are not buying in Brazil. They are buying Brazil,” Bolsonaro has warned repeatedly.

Such talk is likely to please Trump. Recent U.S. taxes on Chinese goods have started a trade war between the two countries. Many people blame the U.S. for unsettling supply systems and economic markets worldwide.

Bolsonaro plans to turn a number of Brazil’s state-owned companies into private companies. He also wants to ease environmental restrictions¹¹ to make room for more mining and farming.

Experts say that, like Trump, Bolsonaro was able to use voters’ fears and dissatisfaction with the government to win the presidency. Brazil now struggles with high levels of crime. In recent years, an investigation¹² into government activities found corruption¹³ at the highest levels.

One former president is in jail and another was removed from office. And Brazil’s economy has yet to fully¹⁴ recover from a large recession. More than 13 million Brazilians are unemployed¹⁵.

Bolsonaro will take office on January 1, 2019.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

commitment – n. the attitude of someone who works very hard to do or support something

gay – n. a person who is homosexual

homophobe – n. a person who hates, is afraid of, and/or treats badly homosexuals (people who are sexually attracted to people of the same sex)

platform – n. the official beliefs and goals of a political party or candidate

fascist – n. one who believes in organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government in very harsh control or authority

root for – v. to express or show support for a person, a team, etc.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

7 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

8 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

9 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

10 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。