U.S. ambassador to Brazil announces unexpected resignation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – United States Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman has unexpectedly announced his resignation from the State Department.

Surprising Brasilia, in a social media post on Thursday, he released a statement in which he reported writing to President Joe Biden last Wednesday to share his decision.

Because of the closeness between President Jair Bolsonaro and former President Donald Trump, Chapman had established privileged access to the Brazilian government and the presidential family. At the helm of the embassy, he strongly advocated for a trade facilitation (tariff simplification) agreement between the two countries and cooperation on pandemic response.

“It was with mixed emotions that I wrote to President Biden yesterday to inform him of my decision to leave public service after a 30-year career at the State Department,” Chapman said in his statement.

Chapman plans to spend the next 30 days in Brazil, still serving as U.S. ambassador, before departing.

“After careful consideration, my wife Janetta and I believe this is an opportune time to move to Denver, Colorado, for several positive reasons: to live closer to our two sons and daughter-in-law and to pursue new professional opportunities and long-standing personal interests,” he said.

For a little more than a year Chapman has been managing the U.S. office in Brasilia. Although he has been very active, his work has been severely limited by the pandemic, travel, and personal meetings. As a career diplomat, he has traveled through eight countries and lived in Brazil for a total of 12 years. As a youth, he attended a school in São Paulo, where his father worked. As a result, he has a perfect command of the Portuguese language.

With Biden’s election and the change of administration in Washington, the ambassador maintained his always active stance, but with a new approach. Aligning himself with the new White House priorities, he emphasized environmental issues and the agenda to combat global warming, which have been friction points between Brazil and the United States.

However, in Itamaraty, cordial and fluid relations with the Democratic administration in Washington were already established during Ernesto Araújo’s tenure.

“Having had the opportunity to spend so much of my life in Brazil, I have great admiration, respect, and affection for Brazil and the Brazilian people. As my time as U.S. Ambassador comes to an end, my relationship with Brazil will continue forever,” Chapman tweeted, already in a parting tone.

In the statement, posted on the embassy’s website, he ends, “May the strong friendship between the American and Brazilian people continue to flourish in the years to come, a task to which I will devote the rest of my life. Thank you, Brazilian friends, see you around!”

Source: Valor