International

Brazil town aspires to be champion of Bolsonaro vote

Photo: Nelson Almeida / AFP

| By AFP | Anna Pelegri |

On Holy Christ Avenue, in front of Bible Square, Brazilian businessman Gilberto Klais buoyantly hops out of an SUV decorated with a giant decal of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Smiling in a denim shirt, the 39-year-old head of the local business owners’ association is a man on a mission: “On election day, the town of Nova Santa Rosa will cast more votes for Bolsonaro than anywhere else in Brazil,” he says.

The small town in the southern state of Parana already voted massively for the incumbent in Brazil’s first-round election on October 2, casting 82 percent of its ballots for Bolsonaro — the second-highest percentage in the country.

Now, as the president heads for a runoff Sunday against veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro backers are pushing for an even bigger win.

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But this small community of trim little houses surrounded by endless expanses of soy and corn fields has some tough competition, in one of Brazil’s most conservative regions.

The neighboring towns of Quatro Pontes and Mercedes finished third and fifth in the Bolsonaro love fest, voting 80 percent and 78 percent for the former army captain, respectively.

And the town of Nova Padua, in neighboring Rio Grande do Sul state, cast the highest percentage for him with 84 percent.

“Bolsonaro lit our flame for Brazil,” says Klais, who owns a local bakery.

Visitors don’t have to look far for proof: a sea of yellow-and-green Brazilian flags hangs from buildings — a symbol Bolsonaro has adopted as his own — and his smiling face beams from campaign posters all over town.

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Opponents’ criticisms of the president — Brazil’s 687 000 deaths from Covid-19, increasing hunger, destruction of the Amazon rainforest — are mute here.

Finding a Lula campaign sign is an impossible task.

Farming is king in these parts, and Bolsonaro, a close ally of Brazil’s powerful agribusiness sector, “has given us security to invest,” promotes “a strong economy,” and upholds God and family “as the supreme good,” says Klais.

“He’s just like us.”

Battle for Brazil’s soul

On his father’s farm, where a feed truck has been turned into a makeshift billboard with Bolsonaro’s slogan — “Brazil above everything, God above everyone” — Ricardo Lorenzatto is on a mission, too: convince at least 200 of the 800 residents who voted for Lula to switch sides in the runoff.

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Bolsonaro “promised to visit the city that casts the highest percentage of votes for him,” says the 35-year-old agricultural engineer, his blue eyes alight.

“My heart leaps just thinking about it.”

He is active on WhatsApp message groups rallying the faithful for pro-Bolsonaro events, such as an Independence Day motorcade on September 7, which, he proudly boasts, stretched four kilometers (2.5 miles).

Lorenzatto says ex-president Lula (2003-2010), who the far-right labels a “communist,” is a threat to his children’s future.

If Lula wins, “indigenous tribes could invade our land, force us to share our cattle,” he says.

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Holding her one-year-old grandson on her porch, Clarice Radoll agrees.

“I would feel very insecure if Lula won,” says the 60-year-old Evangelical Christian, who has Bolsonaro’s picture proudly displayed on the front of her house.

In this town of a dozen churches and around 6,000 inhabitants, Radoll repeats a line often used by conservative pastors: that Lula represents “moral perversion.”

“It’s every Brazilian mother and father’s fear,” she says.

Agribusiness hero

In Mercedes, just up the road, farmer Andre Fiedler admits Lula’s government also took care of the agribusiness industry during the economic boom of the 2 000s.

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“I don’t want to be a hypocrite,” he says.

But Bolsonaro’s administration has backed farming and agricultural exports like no other, “opening new markets for our products,” he says.

He brushes off international criticism over surging Amazon deforestation under Bolsonaro, which experts say is driven by agriculture.

“People say Bolsonaro is damaging Brazil’s image overseas… but that’s just a trade game — protectionism by France, Germany, the United States,” Fiedler says.

“Who’s the biggest soy producer in the world? The biggest poultry exporter? Brazil,” he says.

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“There are vested interests trying to hold us back.”

Bolsonaro, who took 43 percent of the vote in the first round to 48 percent for Lula, trails his leftist rival heading into the runoff — but by a narrowing margin, according to opinion polls.

International

Mexican Navy Ships Deliver Third Shipment of Humanitarian Aid to Cuba

Two logistics support vessels from the Mexican Navy — the ARM Papaloapan and the ARM Huasteco — docked again on Friday in the bay of Havana carrying a third shipment of humanitarian aid for Cuba.

The vessels had previously arrived on the Caribbean island on February 28 with a second cargo that included 1,200 tons of food, sent to help alleviate the country’s ongoing crisis, which has worsened following the U.S. oil restrictions affecting fuel supplies to the island.

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister Josefina Vidal confirmed the new shipment in a social media post.

“Two ships carrying a third shipment of aid from the Government and the people of Mexico for the Cuban people are now arriving at the port of Havana. Thank you Mexico for your solidarity with Cuba,” she wrote.

Previous aid shipments

During the second shipment, the Papaloapan transported 1,078 tons of beans and powdered milk, while the Huastecocarried 92 tons of beans and 23 tons of assorted food products collected by social organizations with support from the government of Mexico City.

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In recent months, Mexico has become the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Cuba, sending around 2,000 tons of supplies, mostly staple foods and hygiene products, in the two shipments prior to Friday’s delivery.

The first shipment alone included 814 tons of food.

Cuba praises Mexico’s support

Hours before the ships arrived, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted Mexico’s support during a televised appearance, describing the country as “a friendly and brotherly nation that has shown tremendous solidarity,”particularly praising Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Díaz-Canel also addressed reports suggesting that Mexican donations were being resold in state-run stores, dismissing them as a “disinformation campaign” promoted by right-wing groups.

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International

Ecuador Declares 60-Day National Emergency After Deadly Floods and Landslides

Ecuador has declared a 60-day national emergency to address the impact of a severe rainy season that has left 11 people dead and more than 50,000 affected since January, the government’s disaster management authority announced Friday.

Prolonged heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms have caused river overflows and landslides, mainly in the coastal provinces of Guayas, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Los Ríos, Manabí and Santa Elena, as well as in the Andean provinces of Lojaand Chimborazo.

According to the Secretariat for Risk Management of Ecuador, the emergency declaration was issued “due to the level of impact caused nationwide on the population, the road network, infrastructure, and livelihoods.”

“The emergency declaration is aimed at responding to the effects and negative impacts and preventing their further spread,” the agency said in a statement.

International

Trump Pushes for Regime Change in Cuba as Havana Confirms Talks With Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire for political change in Cuba, located just 150 kilometers from the United States. Washington considers the island an “exceptional threat,” citing its close ties with Russia, Chinaand Iran, longtime allies of Havana.

Trump has urged Cuba to “reach a deal” with Washington or face consequences, as the island struggles with a severe energy crisis that has nearly paralyzed its economy after the United States cut oil shipments from Venezuela, its main fuel supplier. The U.S. has also warned other countries against selling fuel to Havana.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed that Cuban officials have recently held talks with representatives of the U.S. government. The statement came during a meeting with senior members of the ruling Communist Party of Cuba and the executive committee of the Council of Ministers, according to footage broadcast on Cuban television.

“These conversations have been aimed at seeking solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences that exist between our two nations,” Díaz-Canel said.

Reports of intermediaries and possible negotiations

According to television images, among those attending the meeting was Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Although he holds no official government position, U.S. media have identified him as a possible interlocutor with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in what have been described as secret discussions between Washington and Havana.

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For some Cubans, any potential agreement with Washington is viewed pragmatically. “As long as it benefits us, we can reach an agreement — but on our terms,” said Sergio Guerra, a 55-year-old agricultural vendor, speaking to AFP.

Díaz-Canel’s remarks confirm earlier statements by Trump, who indicated in January that his administration had already begun contacts with senior Cuban officials.

Mexico calls for diplomacy

Meanwhile, Mexico welcomed the possibility of dialogue after recently sending more than 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba to help mitigate the crisis.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country would always promote peace and diplomatic dialogue, particularly in response to what she described as the long-standing injustice of the U.S. embargo on the Cuban people.