Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has made no secret of his preferred winner, openly declaring support for Donald Trump after U.S. and Brazilian officials last month signed a trade facilitation agreement and then a deal for up to $1 billion in financing from the U.S. Export-Import bank.

“I hope, if it is God’s will, to appear at the inauguration of the president soon to be reelected in the U.S.,” Bolsonaro said with a smile on Oct. 20. “I don’t need to hide that. It’s from the heart.”

Like Trump, Bolsonaro rode a populist wave to election, often appearing to take cues from his U.S. counterpart as he pledged to restore Christian values, squash the radical left and root out corruption. Local political analysts have speculated that the U.S. election could be a bellwether for sustained domestic support of Brazil’s crusading strongman.

One issue that looms large for Brazil is destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Trump has kept silent, but its protection would be front and center for a Joe Biden administration, according to Anya Prusa, a senior associate at the Woodrow Wilson International Center’s Brazil Institute. That was underscored by Biden singling out Brazil during the first presidential debate, saying it should face consequences if it fails to curb deforestation.

Bolsonaro, who has staunchly defended Brazil’s sovereignty over the Amazon, shot back that Biden’s comment “clearly signals that he wants to give up a cordial and profitable coexistence.”

On the election’s eve, Bolsonaro took to Twitter to deny a report he had contacted Biden’s team or asked his ambassador to the U.S. to do so. And on Tuesday, he suggested there are strong suspicions foreign powers might try to interfere in the U.S. election — and with his own reelection bid in 2022.

Eraldo Peres

A demonstrator places a U.S. flag over a Brazilian one during a gathering coined "Go Trump, Go," in support of the reelection of President Donald Trump outside the U.S. embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

—Christiana Sciaudone in Sao Paulo and David Biller in Rio de Janeiro, David Biller