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In campaign for his re-election, Jair Bolsonaro travels to Russia and strengthens his ties with Vladimir Putin

In the midst of his re-election campaign, the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, will travel to Russia next month, where he will meet with his colleague, Vladimir Putin, as part of a tour that will include a stopover in Hungary, where a summit with Prime Minister Víktor Orbán, reported the Brazilian press.

“I am very happy, very honored” by Putin’s invitation, Bolsonaro declared when announcing his trip to Moscow days ago. And he pointed out that the visit will open “a window of opportunities” for business with a “large consumer market.”

The passage of the Brazilian leader through Russia coincides with the tension between that country and the United States due to the crisis with Ukraine.

The tour of Eastern Europe is confirmed and will include a visit to Prime Minister Orbán, reported the newspaper Or Balloon.

According to Bolsonaro in December, when he already announced his visit to Moscow, the Russian government showed “interest” in the South American power, so the meeting will seek promote investments from that country in Brazil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive Jair Bolsonaro, in full escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. Photo: AFP

The invitation was extended to Bolsonaro through Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos França, who was already in Russia in December, where he strengthened bilateral ties with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

During the visit, the foreign ministers asked that the currently existing obstacles to the use of the Russian Sputnik vaccine be removed against covid in Brazil approved “with conditions” by the regulatory body, for which it has not yet been able to enter the country.

They also analyzed global issues, such as the prospects for the next period of the United Nations Security Council, in which Russia is a permanent member and Brazil will occupy a biannual seat.

Likewise, França and Lavrov reviewed issues related to the BRICS forum, which both countries are part of along with India, China and South Africa, and other issues on the global agenda, including the fight against the covid-19 pandemic.

October elections

With his sights set on presidential elections in October, in which Bolsonaro will seek a new four-year term, the far-right leader is seeking to bolster ties with allies who could, he believes, help him improve his image a bit.

The president’s popularity plummeted in the last year, due to his management of the pandemic, which left more than 623,000 dead in Brazil, and due to the economic crisis that is increasingly hitting the population, especially the poorest layers.

Bolsonaro shares with Putin, as with the Hungarian far-right Orbán, a series of ultra-conservative values, which also brought him closer to former US President Donald Trump, analysts point out.

The Brazilian president does not have an easy path to the polls. His rival and political enemy number one, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leads all polls of voting intentions and some risk that he could win the presidency in the first round, without having to go to a ballot.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will also receive Jair Bolsonaro.  Photo: AFP

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will also receive Jair Bolsonaro. Photo: AFP

critics

However, for some analysts, Bolsonaro’s visit to Orbán, in Budapest, is not a good idea.

“Diplomats consider that the visit to Orbán does not help Bolsonaro’s relationship with Europe at all,” the newspaper published days ago. Or Globe.

Orbán visited Brasilia in January 2019 for the inauguration of Bolsonaro, who subsequently sent his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, to Budapest.

Deputy Bolsonaro met with several leaders from Italy, Chile, Paraguay and other countries in order to build a global far-right front which has the backing of Steve Bannon, who was an adviser to Donald Trump.

Source: EFE and ANSA

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