Marifeli Perez-Stable

Published in The Miami Herald

January 6, 2005

Brazil is the second most important country in the Americas, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is reveling in it. An activist foreign policy — centered on gaining greater clout for the erstwhile Third World — is raising Brazil’s profile in world affairs. Gone are the days of the inward-looking giant standing on the sidelines.

Lula is, in fact, building on the accomplishments of Fernando Henrique Cardoso who had already planted the seed of advocacy. In early 2001, for example, Cardoso delivered a stinging critique of the Free Trade Area of the Americas at the Quebec summit. Later that year, José Serra — his minister of health who lost the election to Lula in 2002 — successfully argued for allowing exports of generic drugs to poorer countries at the WTO’s Doha ministerial meeting. Future presidents are likely to build upon Lula’s foreign policy.

Trade and free trade

From the outset of the new administration in 2003, Itamaraty — the Brazilian foreign ministry — put muscle behind the aspiration for international prominence. Lula has relentlessly courted allies for his vision of a more-balanced world, and he has the G-20 — a group of countries mostly at mid-level development — to show for it. Brazil, China, South Africa and India are leading the G-20 in negotiations with the World Trade Organization on the testy matter of the rich world’s farm subsidies. Last June, Brazil was instrumental in forging a new framework to organize these trade negotiations. Recently, Brasilia nominated its WTO ambassador for the organization’s presidency in mid-2005.

Trade is a central lever of Brazilian foreign policy. Trade and free trade are, however, different matters. Though the two are far apart, Brazil co-chairs the talks on the FTAA with the United States. It is also seeking an agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). Unlike most of Latin America where governments and the private sector have embraced free trade, Brazil’s have yet to do so. Making FTAA and EU-Mercosur happen would almost certainly be a boon to the Brazilian economy. While conscientious social policies would be imperative, free trade may well be the impetus for the sustainable growth that has eluded Brazil. Lula’s activist foreign policy has, thus far, fallen short in this regard.

Brazil has also mounted an aggressive campaign for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, which may eventually be expanded. Brazil, Germany, Japan and India are the top candidates, and it was Brasilia that took the initiative to join forces in the G-4 to press for their collective admission. Great Britain, France, Russia and China have endorsed Brazil. While the United States has not, Secretary of State Colin Powell noted last October that it ”would be a serious candidate.” Its leadership of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti and the recent announcement that U.N. dues in arrears would be paid underscore the significance Brazil accords its bid to join the Security Council as a permanent member.

Team player

Lula is likewise trying to strike a delicate balance with his neighbors in Latin America. Mexico and Argentina have yet to resign their own U.N. aspirations or to accept Brazil’s ”natural” leadership. In Venezuela, Lula pressed upon Hugo Chávez the importance of holding the recall referendum last August. Though initially suspicious of Plan Colombia, he is now cooperating with Alvaro Uribe to prevent border clashes with Colombian guerrillas. His rags-to-power story, his bona fide (if now less fiery) leftist credentials and his solid performance in office make Lula a bulwark of democracy in Latin America. Fortunately, the United States has recognized Lula’s value to regional stability and has followed a nuanced policy toward Brazil.

Last June, The Economist noted that Brazil had to decide whether it was a team player in Latin America or a whale with the power to act on its own. Celso Amorim, the Brazilian foreign minister, answered that whales, in fact, ”are gregarious animals.” The jury is still out on Brazil’s regional and international activism. Lula has not quite found the means — or the will — to translate his impressive foreign policy into tangible improvements in the social condition of his people.