Brazil denies visas to two US officials who requested pre-election meetings

The Brazilian government has denied visas to two US State Department officials who wanted to visit the country to contact election authorities ahead of the presidential elections to be held in October.

According to information in the Brazilian press, the visa applications of Riley Barnes, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Samuel Samson, who serves as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the same unit, were rejected.

The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the US officials wanted to address issues related to freedom of expression during the election process, but that the purpose of the visit was not found appropriate. According to local media, the government did not permit entry, assessing that the visit in question could politicize the election process.

The report stated that while Brazil has a tradition of accepting international observers for elections, it was claimed that the US officials did not want to come to the country as observers, but for a different purpose.

Senatör Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, is shown as the strongest rival to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is a candidate for re-election in the elections to be held on October 4.

It was noted that the visa decision came after a meeting Flavio Bolsonaro held in the capital, Brasilia, with representatives from nearly 40 countries. In this meeting, Bolsonaro claimed, without providing evidence, that the electronic voting system in Brazil was provided by the Venezuela-based company Smartmatic.

The Brazilian Superior Electoral Court denied the claim. The court announced that Smartmatic has never supplied the electronic ballot boxes or software used in the Brazilian election system.

News Source: 12punto