Nick Schifrin:
Tonight, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned, the U.S. will — quote — “respond accordingly to this witch-hunt.”
For a deeper look, we turn to Brian Winter, the executive vice president of the Americas Society and Councils of the Americas, nonprofit groups that seek to foster greater understanding throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Brian Winter, thanks very much. Welcome to the “News Hour.”
Brazil’s a young democracy, no stranger to coups and dictatorships. How significant is it that Bolsonaro has become the first former president to be convicted of plotting to overthrow an election?
Brian Winter, Executive Vice President, Americas Society and Council of the Americas: It’s a big day. It’s a historic day for Brazil for the reasons that you cite.
It’s a country that just recovered its democracy a little more than 40 years ago. Therefore, it’s especially sensitive to any kind of risk of losing it. This is also a big day for the relationship between Brazil and the United States, because, as your program just noted, we do expect there to be some sort of response from the Trump White House, which has described this whole process, this whole trial against former President Bolsonaro, his ally, as a witch-hunt.
