Brazil has denied visa requests from two US state department officials who planned to visit the country ahead of the October presidential election. The officials said the proposed visit raised concerns over possible attempts to question the credibility of the country’s electoral system.According to news agency Reuters, two Brazilian officials familiar with the matter said the visa requests were rejected after authorities assessed that the planned visit could influence perceptions around Brazil’s election process.Brazil’s foreign ministry confirmed that visa requests from US officials Riley M Barnes, an assistant secretary, and Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant, were denied. According to news agency AP, the ministry spokesperson said the officials submitted their applications on July 20 and the requests were rejected on Friday but did not provide further details.The issue came to light after The Washington Post reported that Brazilian authorities believed the officials intended to raise doubts about the integrity of Brazil’s upcoming elections.The US state department said Barnes and Samson were scheduled to travel to Brasília from July 27 to 30 for meetings with government officials, religious leaders and other groups on issues including “election integrity,” religious freedom and freedom of expression.Responding to questions from AP, the state department described the trip as routine and rejected suggestions that it was aimed at interfering in Brazil’s election.“Any insinuation of a ploy to undermine a democratic nation’s election is a baseless lie,” the department said.Brazil’s decision comes amid strained relations between Brasília and Washington. US president Donald Trump’s administration recently imposed tariff increases of up to 37.5 per cent on thousands of Brazilian exports, citing trade concerns and alleged labour violations, claims rejected by the Brazilian government.In the Brazil’s upcoming presidential election, incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to face senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and a Trump ally.Flávio Bolsonaro has recently renewed calls for international observers to monitor Brazil’s elections, while stopping short of directly questioning the integrity of the voting system.Brazil’s electronic voting system has been repeatedly defended by the country’s electoral authorities. Former president Jair Bolsonaro had previously alleged without evidence that the system was vulnerable to fraud before the 2022 election, which Lula won.Reuters reported that Bolsonaro had presented claims about the voting system to foreign diplomats before the election. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court later ruled that Bolsonaro had abused his position and barred him from running for office until 2030. He was also convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison over an alleged plot to overturn the election result.