U.S. mission expands international support for the integrity of Brazil’s elections

A mission of Brazilian civil society organizations to Washington, D.C., and New York concluded its schedule of meetings with the assessment that it had strengthened international coordination in support of democracy and the integrity of Brazil’s 2026 elections. Between July 20 and 24, representatives of 15 organizations met with U.S. lawmakers, representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), officials from the Brazilian Embassy, members of Brazil’s mission to the United Nations, and U.S. civil society organizations.

Organized by the Washington Brazil Office (WBO), the mission continued the international dialogue that began ahead of Brazil’s 2022 elections. This time, the agenda took place in a different political context, marked by a change of government in the United States, with efforts focused on meetings with lawmakers, international organizations, and civil society groups.

One of the delegation’s main objectives was to emphasize the importance of the international community promptly recognizing the outcome of Brazil’s 2026 elections, regardless of which candidate wins, as happened following the 2022 election.

“Defending democracy requires an ongoing commitment. We came to reaffirm the importance of respecting the outcome of the ballot box and having it recognized by the international community, strengthening confidence in Brazil’s democratic institutions,” said Paulo Vannuchi, a member of the Arns Commission and part of the delegation.

During the meetings, U.S. lawmakers expressed concern about safeguarding democracy in both countries and indicated their willingness to monitor Brazil’s 2026 electoral process, including raising concerns about any interference by the Trump administration in Brazil’s elections.

Another key focus of the agenda was dialogue with the Organization of American States. During the meetings, OAS representatives reaffirmed that the electoral observation mission in Brazil should include 90 independent experts and would be exclusively technical in nature, following the protocols adopted by the organization in electoral processes in its member states.

The program also included meetings with representatives of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, Brazil’s mission to the United Nations, the Open Society Foundations, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the powerful AFL-CIO labor federation, and the international relations team of the New York City government. The meetings broadened exchanges between Brazilian organizations and international partners working on democracy and human rights.

For Vannuchi, the mission consolidates a network of international cooperation built since 2022 and strengthens dialogue among institutions committed to defending the democratic rule of law.

“We return to Brazil with the sense that important interlocutors are closely following the situation in Brazil and are prepared to defend the integrity of our electoral process. Some of them shared concerning information with us about interference by the State Department and Marco Rubio in the recent elections in Colombia and other countries,” Vannuchi said. “Democracy is a shared commitment among countries that value the rule of law, and this international dialogue will become increasingly important in the coming months,” he added.

In addition to the Arns Commission, the delegation included representatives of the following organizations: APIB (Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil), CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores), Direitos Já! Fórum pela Democracia, GIFE (Group of Institutes, Foundations and Companies), Instituto Futuro, Instituto Marielle Franco, Instituto Vladimir Herzog, IP.rec (Recife Institute for Research in Law and Technology), LAPIN (Laboratory for Public Policy and Internet), Libera, MTST (Homeless Workers’ Movement), Odara – Institute for Black Women, Plataforma CIPÓ, and WBO (Washington Brazil Office).