Iran’s friend in the Tropics?

Brazil’s new leader is playing the ambiguity game, but knows he owes his political survival to Iran, Turkey’s Erdogan and Venezuela’s Maduro.

By João Lemos Esteves

Brazil’s democracy is on probation. And I am not referring to the storming of the Brazilian Congress and presidential palace. Let’s be clear: Violence is never acceptable in a democracy. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s background proves that he is no “democracy’s savior” or “liberty’s angel”, as some in the press have pictured him. In fact, Lula is deeply flawed as far as his democratic credentials are concerned – while respecting the Brazilian people’s democratic will, the free world needs to demand something else. Do not forget that he was convicted of corruption and only acquitted based on technicalities.

Lula has a lot to prove that this time he will be committed to transparency, honesty, and the minimum standards of democracy and the rule of law. The first signs, however, are not very promising: He is reported to be preparing a bold legislative package against his political opponents and even just critics of his socialist government, attacking violently the human right of freedom of speech. On the foreign policy front, Lula da Silva is abandoning his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro’s “first-world policy” (with some mistakes, it’s true!) in order to embrace his old alliance with narco-terrorist regimes, such as in Venezuela, Argentina or Cuba. More importantly (and dangerously!), Lula da Silva is seen by the Kremlin and Beijing as their main man in the region, who will help their plan to make inroads in the Western Hemisphere, defying the United States right at America’s “backyard”.

Vladimir Putin’s ideologues have written lengthily about their strategy to tear the Monroe Doctrine (a longtime pillar of American foreign policy) down, starting with destabilizing the US from within and from their own continent. In Putin’s mind, the US future is directly linked to the future of the Western Hemisphere – if Latin America can form together an anti-capitalist, anti-freedom bloc, that will manifest itself in the United States, ultimately transforming the US into a totally different country: more aligned with the socialist-communist countries of Central and South America and less loyal to the values that have made the US such a great and powerful nation.

It is no coincidence that Lula is playing the ambiguity game: On the one hand, he proclaims a vague desire for peace and his commitment to “save the planet” and fighting climate change, while on the other hand, Lula knows he owes his political survival to Russia, China, and Iran, as well as Turkey and Venezuela. The most worrisome news is that Lula is preparing to widely open the gates of Brazil to Hezbollah and Iran’s Qods Force … all over again. Brazil will likely be once more a hotspot for terrorism and drug trafficking. The exit of Ambassador Menandro de Freitas from the Brazilian Embassy in Israel is a sign that Lula is trying to please Iran, China, and Russia. The Iranian and Qatari propaganda celebrated his removal, praising that “Mr. Garcia de Freitas was dismissed from the leadership of Brazilian mission to Israeli occupation.”

In February, we hope that President Joe Biden – who has been a competent commander-in-chief defending the free world against Russia’s imperialism – will not be fooled by the “climate change” spell Lula will cast on him. Defending the environment is important – but having clean air will be pointless if we are to live in an authoritarian, terrorism-dominated world. It’s time to defend American values and American interests – and not look for (supposedly) ideological pals.

Fuente Israel Hayon