Brazilian President Lula's campaign team requests that the suspension of consular services at the US embassy and consulate be included in the election interference investigation

China News Service, October 4. According to foreign media citing Brazilian news on the 3rd local time, Brazilian President Lula’s campaign team has requested the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court to include the suspension of offline consular services by the US Embassy and Consulate in Brazil on the 2nd into the ongoing investigation related to the interference of external forces in the Brazilian election.

Data map: Brazilian President Lula speaks. Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong

According to reports, the petition from Lula’s campaign team pointed out that this matter is another example of the US government’s interference in Brazil’s elections. The U.S. government launched an "abnormal diplomatic move" of this scale during a critical period of the election, which brought instability to Brazil's electoral environment.

According to the report, the U.S. Embassy in Brazil issued an announcement on the evening of the 1st that the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil would suspend offline consular services on the 2nd due to "security issues." U.S. citizens in need of emergency assistance should not go to the U.S. Embassy, ​​Consulates or other diplomatic missions in Brazil during this period.

Previously, on the 1st, Brazil’s Federal Chamber of Barristers asked the Federal Police and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office to launch an investigation into the US government’s suspected funding of interfering in Brazil’s elections and undermining the legitimacy of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court. Jorge Mesias, director of the Federal Chamber of Barristers, quoted a report from the British "Guardian" on September 30 that the U.S. government allegedly provided $1 million to fund Brazilian civil groups to launch actions against the so-called "judicial overreach" and "censorship of speech" by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court. Mecias said Brazilian law prohibits foreign entities or governments from funding or controlling domestic political groups. Brazil is scheduled to hold the first round of voting in the presidential election on October 4.