Daily US Times: There were two notable holdouts among the world leaders who rushed to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. presidential election: the leaders of Latin America’s two largest countries, Mexivo and Brazil, both of whom have been seen as friendly to President Donald Trump.
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, sometimes dubbed “”the Trump of the Tropics”” for his off-the-cuff style and populist stance, has kept silent on Trump’sTrump’s loss. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico has refused to congratulate Biden at this point, saying he would wait until the legal challenges over the vote were resolved.
Trump and the two Latin leaders are united by some surface similarities: All three can loosely be described as populist and nationalist, they dislike wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic. But the motives of the two Latin leaders may differ.
Bolsonaro and his sons seem to be actively uncomfortable with the outcome of the U.S. race. Like Trump’sTrump’s children, The Brazilian President’sPresident’s sons also play a role on the political scene.
Bolsonaro’s son previously wore hats with the logo “Trump 2020,” and the president himslef has previously expressed hope for Trump’s reelection. He has kept largely silent this week.
Meanwhile, López Obrador’sObrador’s cordial relationship with the U.S. President was often seen as unusual for a left-leaning politician, but it had a workmanlike basis.
In part, that is political realism: President Trump threatened in 2019 to apply crippling tariffs on Mexican products unless the Mexican President cracked down on Central American migrants crossing Mexico to reach the U.S. border. Mexico complied, rounding up migrants and busing them back to their home countries.
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