Despite constraints, Brazil’s next government has the opportunity to reassert a global role
OLIVER STUENKEL
https://www.ft.com/content/becb3cce-3ccb-11e8-bcc8-cebcb81f1f90
After 16 years of unprecedented foreign policy activism under Presidents Fernando Cardoso and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s visibility on the international stage declined markedly under Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) and Michel Temer, her successor. To some extent, the swings might be explained by a leader’s personal preferences. Mr Cardoso and Lula enjoyed presidential diplomacy and travelled frequently. Ms Rousseff disliked air travel and had little patience for diplomatic intricacies.
Yet a closer look reveals that the factor that shapes Brazil’s foreign policy is more one of global dynamics that the president cannot control. Lula, in particular, enjoyed favourable macroeconomic conditions: low global interest rates and high commodity prices boosted growth and led to high approval ratings at home, allowing him to pursue an activist foreign policy.
Remarkably, Brazil was the world’s second biggest contributor to global growth in the first decade of the 21st century. When the global financial crisis of 2008 began and a global leadership vacuum emerged, Lula and his ambitious foreign minister Celso Amorim saw an opportunity to consolidate Brazil’s more prominent role — such as by co-founding the Brics grouping and taking the lead in several hotspots around the world, be it the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti or negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran.
Lula’s successor, Ms Rousseff, faced less… READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.
