Brazil: Foreign Affairs Minister Resigns Due To Senate Pressure

Brazil's Foreign Affairs Minister Ernesto Araujo resigned on Monday after senators accused him of disastrously directing his country's foreign policy and creating obstacles to access to COVID-19 vaccines.

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Pressure against Araujo came even from right-wing parliamentarians. Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco and Foreign Relations Commission President Katia Abreu were among the politicians who called for his resignation.

Among other reasons, their political discomfort is related to Araujo's continuous criticism of countries that play an important role in accessing the resources needed to fight the pandemic.

"The right-wing extremist and conspiracy theorist Araujo was seen as an obstacle to... deals such as buying vaccines from China and India," DW reported.

During his tenure, for example, Araujo had direct friction with the Chinese ambassador in Brazil due to his comments questioning the effectiveness of Chinese vaccines and linking this Asian country with the origin of the virus.

“Opposition to Ernesto Araujo increased last week when one of his top aides made a gesture associated with white supremacist groups. His position became untenable over the weekend after he accused senators of acting as lobbyists for Huawei,” the Brazilian Report recalled.

As for the United States, Araujo publicly supported the reelection of Donald Trump and questioned the 2020 elections in which President Joe Biden was elected.

"Our foreign policy is disastrous and helped turn Brazil into a world pariah and a global threat," the senators said in a statement released on Monday.

"His actions compromise even the procurement of vaccines destined to save the lives of millions of Brazilians," they added, warning that Senate will suspend the approval of new ambassadors as long as Araujo remains in his post.