Biden, Bolsonaro and Castillo gear up for UN General Assembly

By Mario Villar

United Nations, Sep 18 (EFE).- United States president Joe Biden is set to be the main protagonist at this year’s United Nations General Assembly amid the absence of the two other global heavyweights, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Close attention will also be paid to Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Peru’s Pedro Castillo and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele.

JOE BIDEN

Biden’s appearance at the General Assembly comes shortly after his country’s chaotic and sudden withdrawal from Afghanistan and while the US Covid-19 vaccine rollout is stalling.

The items atop his agenda include ending the global pandemic, the climate crisis and agreeing on an international and democratic defense strategy.

Due to the Covid-19 situation, Biden will travel to New York for just one day and will not hold in-person meetings with other world leaders, although he is expected to host video conferences after returning to the White House.

JAIR BOLSONARO

Despite a raft of warnings, Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly downplayed the pandemic, is set to flout the rules by traveling to New York without having received a Covid-19 vaccine.

As is tradition, the Brazilian president will open the speeches at the UN. He will do so, according to officials, by presenting the “truths” about his country, which at the moment finds itself at the center of international scrutiny due to his government’s perceived attacks on its institutions.