The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has called for the proper functioning of democratic institutions in Latin America and for the electoral processes and their results to be respected, in a veiled message to the situation in Brazil where the president, Jair Bolsonaro, has sown doubts about the cleanliness of the elections two days before the second round that measures him against Lula da Silva.
«In these days in which the region is experiencing important electoral processes, and in which we are still suffering the consequences of the pandemic and the immediate consequences of the war, I want to call for the proper functioning of democratic institutions,» said the head of European diplomacy at the press conference following the meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Buenos Aires.
Borrell insisted that the political institutions «are the guarantors of the electoral processes» and must «work well», «not be questioned», and «accept the results», affirming that all this contributes to the stability of the region.
Everything depends on democratic institutions», the former Spanish minister stressed, emphasizing that guaranteeing freedoms and rights also makes it possible to offer an attractive economic environment for investment, which has repercussions on employment, wealth and redistribution.
Bolsonaro has an open war against the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) which he has accused of manipulating the elections in favor of Lula da Silva, attacks that he has redoubled after the TSE has initiated an investigation for alleged irregularities in the election campaign.
The latest polls published this week continue to put former president Lula ahead of a Bolsonaro who seems to have stalled after several weeks in which it looked like he might close in on his rival. The latest poll puts the PT candidate seven points ahead, an insurmountable gap with just three days to go before the October 30 elections.
