The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, resumed the measure of requiring visas for tourists from the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan; this had been canceled by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, in an attempt to boost the tourism industry
Brazil will once again require visas for tourists from the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan starting October 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
President Jair Bolsonaro had waived visa requirements in 2019 in an attempt to boost the tourism industry, but those four countries continue to require visas for Brazilians.
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The previous decision was “a break with respect to the pattern of Brazilian immigration policy, which has historically been based on the principles of reciprocity and equal treatment,” the ministry said in a statement released Monday night.
“Brazil does not offer a unilateral waiver of visitor visas, without reciprocity, to other countries,” the ministry said, noting that the government is willing to negotiate visa waiver agreements based on reciprocity.
Bolsonaro criticized the decision last week when the station G1 reported the plans. «Another measure revoked by Lula. Less stimulus for the hotel sector,” the former president wrote on Twitter.
– Brazil will once again demand a visa for the cities of the USA, Japan, Australia and Canada.
– Jair Bolsonaro had waived such a requirement in 2019, a fact that has increased the flow of tourists.
– More than a revival of Lula. Fewer jobs and discouragement to the hotel sector. pic.twitter.com/Ol2jSFCK5y
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) March 9, 2023
Unilateral decisions like Bolsonaro’s are unusual in diplomacy, said Leonardo Paz, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation., a university and study center. The revocation is part of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s ambition to strengthen the country’s foreign policy, an area neglected by Bolsonaro, according to Paz.
Even so, representatives of the tourism sector criticized the measure.
The chief executive of one of Rio de Janeiro’s top tourist attractions, the Sugar Loaf cable car, criticized the decision. Sandro Fernandes told folhapress before the official announcement that the decision would be “a setback.”
“Instead of closing the door on four nationalities, we should be talking about which will be the next four that will be exempt from visas. And then four more. That should be the government’s agenda,” Fernandes declared.
Before the pandemic, Brazil received 6.4 million tourists in 2019, much less than Mexico’s 45 million and Argentina’s 7.4 million, according to the World Tourism Organization.
Data from Ministry of Tourism of Brazil indicate that arrivals of Americans, Australians, Canadians and Japanese decreased between 2019 and 2021, although this was probably largely due to the pandemic.
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