The Australian authorities announced this Friday the temporary closure of their Embassy in Brazil, just two days before the celebration of the general elections, citing "security reasons."
Ambassador Sophie Davies specified in a statement that "The Embassy of Australia in Brasilia will remain closed on October 2 for security reasons," while urging the population to stay away from the area where the U.S. diplomatic mission is located, whose consular services have also been suspended for the same reason.
In her message, Davies requested that, in case of any emergency, contact be made with the Consular Emergency Center in Canberra to obtain "urgent assistance." She also emphasized: "We ask to avoid U.S. consulates and other diplomatic facilities in Brazil as well."
Sources familiar with the situation indicate that the closure of the U.S. Embassy could be linked to a possible bomb threat in Brasilia. However, this has not been verified, and the authorities of the capital insist that there is no confirmation of any such danger.
The measure adopted by both countries occurs in the final stretch of an electoral campaign in which the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, seeks re-election against the far-right Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
According to several polls, Lula faces the first round this Sunday with a slight advantage over his opponent, with 39% of voting intention compared to Bolsonaro's 34%. These elections will be the first since the 2022 elections, which resulted in Jair Bolsonaro's prison sentence for leading an attempted coup after his electoral defeat.