Fresh signs of a thaw emerged in a simmering US-Brazil dispute after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he spoke with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting, adding the pair expect to meet again soon.
Mr Vieira attended the G20 foreign ministers’ gathering hosted by Mr Rubio in Atlanta.
According to a source familiar with the plans, the two men had a brief conversation and agreed to meet again in the coming weeks, ahead of a G20 leaders summit scheduled for Miami in December.
The planned follow-up is being viewed as a potential step toward easing tensions that flared after the Trump administration revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador in Washington in August, and after the United States decided to grant a visa to Flavio Bolsonaro following his defeat by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Speaking to reporters in Atlanta, Mr Rubio said he and Mr Vieira were also expected to cross paths again in France at a G7 foreign ministers’ summit next month.
Brazil is anticipated to attend that gathering as an observer, he noted.
Flavio Bolsonaro steps off a plane after arriving in Miami
Mr Rubio also sought to clarify Washington’s role in Mr Bolsonaro’s travel, saying the Trump administration did not facilitate his departure to the United States.
Mr Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on Wednesday, one day after the State Department said he and his family would receive US visas.
“We didn’t facilitate anything,” Mr Rubio said.
“We had word that he had arrived in the United States. He had previously held a visa, and the president made a decision to allow him to enter the country,” Mr Rubio said, adding that the US government was not “involved directly in any of the moves that were made”.
‘Not politicising the issue’
A Brazilian official played down the broader strains, which include Brazil’s failure to approve US President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador in Brasilia and the fallout from Mr Lula’s victory in the 25 October runoff election.
“We’re clearly not politicising the issue, as we haven’t in other situations regarding Brazilian citizens who have fled to the US,” the Brazilian official said.
Separately, a US official and a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Mr Trump has no current plans to back Mr Bolsonaro’s political ambitions, despite allowing the Brazilian politician into the US.
Mr Rubio reiterated that the US government “was not involved directly in any of the moves” that led to Mr Bolsonaro’s departure from Brazil earlier this week.
Mr Bolsonaro’s father, far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, is imprisoned in Brazil for plotting a coup after losing his own re-election bid in 2022.
