US, Australia suspend consular services in Brazil

The United States announced it was suspending consular services at its embassy and consulates in Brazil due to security concerns starting Friday.

The US did not specify the kind of security issues it was looking at and it did not link issues to the presidential elections in Brazil this Sunday.

The Australian Embassy in Brasilia also said it was closing on Friday, citing the US alert and advising Australians to avoid US diplomatic missions.

The US State Department said it was working closely with its Brazilian counterparts to address security concerns, the Associated Press reported.

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The news comes at a tense time in US-Brazil relations.

Brazilians are headed to the polls this Sunday for what will likely be the first round of the presidential elections that has effectively shaped up to be a rematch of the 2022 contest. 

Surveys show the contest is a statistical tie between left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking a fourth term, and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The elder Bolsonaro, who is a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump, was sentenced last year to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn the results of the previous presidential election in Brazil.

Trump has not endorsed a candidate, but there are fears that he may be too deeply involved in the outcome of the election results.

US Democratic lawmakers, for example, in late September expressed "grave concern" in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio over what they said was the administration's "coordinated effort to threaten our strategic alliance with Brazil and undermine the Western Hemisphere’s second-largest democracy ahead of its upcoming presidential election."

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Lula and his allies have warned of foreign interference in the election, pointing to tariffs and an effort this summer by Washington to send US officials to Brazil to "discuss electoral integrity."

When asked at the White House whether he would support Bolsonaro in the election, Trump said: "Well, we're looking at that whole thing, and we're watching that election very closely." 

Brazil is surrounded by neighbors who've swung to the right and the election outcome — which could be determined on October 25th when the country advances into runoff if no candidate secures a majority of the vote this Sunday — will determine the direction of the country's foreign policy.

Edited by: Sean Sinico

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