Obama Praises Brazilian Democracy in Meeting with Macri in Buenos Aires

03/24/2016 - 10h02

Barack Obama said on Wednesday (23) that Brazilian democracy is mature and that the structures in place are of sufficient strength to withstand the current political crisis. The comments were made in a press conference following his meeting with the Argentine President Mauricio Macri, in Buenos Aires.

"We didn't discuss the issue in detail, but we hope that Brazil will resolve its political crisis effectively," said Obama. "It is a great country and a friend of both our countries."

"The good news, as President Macri has also said, is that their democracy is sufficiently mature, their systems of laws and structures I think are strong enough that this will get resolved in a way that allows Brazil ultimately to prosper and be the significant world leader that it is," Obama added.

"We need a strong Brazil for our own economies and for world peace," he concluded.

Macri emphasized the importance of Brazil to Argentina, as its main trade partner, and said that events in Brazil affect Argentina. "We are convinced that Brazil will emerge strengthened from this crisis, and we hope that this happens as soon as possible," he said.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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	Nicholas Kamm/AFP
	President Barack Obama meets with President Mauricio Macri at the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires