Brazil condemns El Salvador for breaking off official contacts

Brazil's Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty) criticized El Salvador's decision to break off official contacts with Brazil due to the recent approval of the impeachment proceedings that suspended President Dilma Rousseff from office.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that El Salvador's response shows “broad and deep” unfamiliarity with Brazilian laws and the “full functioning” of Brazil's democratic institutions.

“So many misunderstandings are particularly strange, since El Salvador maintains intense economic relations with Brazil and is the largest recipient of Brazilian technical cooperation in Central America. Therefore, the Brazilian government expects the government of El Salvador to reconsider its position, based on objective and factual assessment of reality, thus showing respect for Brazilian institutions and the principles that have governed relations between both countries,” the note read.

Since José Serra took over as Foreign Minister, this is the second time the ministry has refuted criticism of Brazil's impeachment proceedings by Latin American countries. On Friday (May 13), the Foreign Ministry “emphatically” rejected what it called “misinformation spread” by the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicarágua.

Translated by Mayra Borges