US Revokes Brazilian Ambassador's Visa Following Election Dispute

The United States has revoked the visa of Brazil’s Ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti. The move marks a new escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two countries ahead of the general election in Brazil. The visa revocation was carried out after the Brazilian government refused to grant visas to two US State Department officials who planned to visit Brazil last month. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused the US officials of intending to ‘interfere’ in the Brazilian election, a claim the US has called ‘baseless’. A US official stated that the decision does not mean the Brazilian ambassador is being expelled from the US. A State Department spokesperson described the action as a ‘reciprocal measure’. ‘We have been in constant communication with the Brazilian government for weeks and have given them every opportunity to do the right thing, but they have continued to delay and obfuscate the issue,’ the State Department spokesperson said. The State Department added that while this action does not mean Viotti is barred from entering the US, ‘additional diplomatic options remain on the table.’ The dispute was triggered by the planned visit of two senior State Department officials, Riley M Barnes and Samuel Samson, in late July to discuss freedom of expression, religion, and electoral integrity. They were also scheduled to meet with right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio Bolsonaro had previously questioned the reliability of Brazil’s electronic voting machines before diplomats. Although the claim was rejected by Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court, the Brazilian government feared the arrival of the US delegation would cast unfounded doubt on the election. In a statement to the BBC, the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil asserted that the reason the US revoked its envoy’s visa was ‘false’. It considered the planned visit by US officials an ‘unacceptable attempt to interfere in domestic political processes.’ Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has also not yet approved Daniel Perez, the US Ambassador-designate to Brazil appointed by President Donald Trump. The Brazilian government told the BBC that it complies with international law and that the application for Perez is still under review.