US ally Brazil maintains silence on Biden win

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - The US' "major non-NATO ally" Brazil remains silent over President-elect Joe Biden's White House victory.

President Jair Bolsonaro's government neither celebrated Biden nor backed "friend" Donald Trump's "it is not over" move since Saturday when the Democratic leader claimed more than enough Electoral College votes, according to the projections.

Trump has been promoting Brazil to get Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development membership, while Brazil follows Washington's footsteps on foreign policy since Bolsonaro took the office in January 2019.

However, the ties between the two countries may change in Biden's era if he seeks a different political approach to Latin American countries.

Meanwhile, the latest polls in the country show Bolsonaro losing popularity in some of Brazil's biggest cities amid weak coronavirus response and embezzlement charges against his eldest son.

According to Sunday's Datafolha poll conducted in early November, support for the president in Sao Paulo fell 4% from 29%, and in Belo Horizonte it fell 5% from 40%.

The Latin American country has reported more than 5.6 million coronavirus cases and nearly 162,500 deaths, according to a running tally of the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro said last week that Bolsonaro's son and senator Flavio, 39, has been formally accused of embezzlement, money laundering, misappropriation of funds and directing a "criminal organization."

Flavio categorically denies allegations.