SAO PAULO (AP) — On the same day that Brazil signed a U.N. agreement on migration, the country's incoming foreign minister said he'll pull the country out of it when the new government takes office in January.
Ernesto Araujo said on his Twitter page late Monday that Brazil will withdraw from the nonbinding Global Compact for Migration "because immigration cannot be dealt with as a global issue, but according to each country's reality and sovereignty."
The message underscored the rightward shift of the incoming administration of President-elect Jail Bolsonaro.
Outgoing Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes responded with his own tweet, saying, "The pact is not incompatible with Brazilian reality. We are a multiethnic country, formed by immigrants, from all quadrants.
"It is a global issue," he added. "All regions of the world are affected by migratory flows, sometimes as the issuing pole, sometimes as a transit place, sometimes as a destination. Hence the need for global responses."
Brazil's outgoing government joined 163 other governments on Monday to approve the compact, which is aimed at ensuring safe, orderly and humane migration.
Opponents of the accord say it would help import poverty and crime, reduce wages and take jobs away from taxpaying citizens.
Brazilian authorities have been alarmed at the recent arrival of an estimated 85,000 migrants from neighboring Venezuela.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
