Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2018
159. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the recent presidential elections in Brazil; his views on the fact that an extreme right wing candidate (details supplied) is now the President-elect of Brazil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45775/18]
View answerI am aware of the recent election of Jair Bolsonaro as the next President of Brazil. Officials in my Department in Dublin, at our Embassy in Brasília, and at our Consulate-General in São Paulo have been monitoring political developments closely.
It is essential that citizens are able to exercise their democratic right to vote, and I understand that the election took place in a peaceful manner. The head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) election observation mission, former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, has stated that voting took place in a climate of ‘tranquillity and normality’.
Ireland and Brazil have an important and longstanding relationship that goes back many decades, and which continues to develop. There are growing numbers of our citizens living in each other’s countries, Irish companies are increasingly entering the Brazilian market, and Brazil is an important partner for Ireland in trade, education and on multilateral issues.
Ireland looks forward to maintaining our strong relationship with Brazil in the future and will continue efforts to advance our interests and values in our engagement with the new government. In the meantime, Ireland will continue to monitor developments closely, engaging with the outgoing and incoming administrations, our EU and other partners in Brazil and civil society organisations on the ground.
