The Washington Dissensus: A Privileged Observer's Perspective on US-Brazil Relations - Hardcover

Barbosa, Rubens

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826520111 ISBN 13: 9780826520111

Verlag: Vanderbilt University Press, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

During the five years that he represented Brazil in the United States (under both the Cardoso and Lula presidencies), Ambassador Barbosa witnessed presidential elections that brought opposition parties to power in both the United States and Brazil, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the outbreak of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the election of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In this memoir, translated from the Portuguese, Barbosa recounts the most significant regional and global issues that arose, alongside the domestic political conflicts within a divided North American society. Barbosa provides sophisticated analysis of economic relations during these changing times, and also explores the many US misconceptions about Brazil and the Latin American region.

From the privileged post of observation that an ambassadorship in the American capital represents, Barbosa had the exceptional opportunity over a considerable length of time to closely follow relations between Brazil and the United States. He witnessed relations evolve under two governments as they developed distinct foreign policies, which at times led to a breakdown in understanding between the two countries.

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Rubens Barbosa served as Brazil's Ambassador to the United States in Washington from 1999 to 2004 and as Ambassador to the Court of St James's in London before then. He has held a number of senior positions in Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Relations and Ministry of Finance. Barbosa has a master's degree from the London School of Economics.

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The Washington Dissensus

A Privileged Observer's Perspective on US-Brazil Relations

By Rubens Barbosa, Anthony Doyle

Vanderbilt University Press

Copyright © 2011 Editora Nova Fronteira Participaçõas S.A.
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8265-2011-1

Contents

Preface: Brazil and the World, xi, 
1 Brazil and the United States, 1, 
2 Panoramic View from the Embassy in Washington, 27, 
3 Presidents FHC and Lula in Washington, 65, 
4 Diplomatic Negotiations in Washington, 108, 
5 Being Ambassador in Washington, 151, 
6 Work at the Helm of the Embassy in the United States, 183, 
7 Developments in Brazilian Foreign Policy toward the United States, 209, 
8 Historical Perspective, 238, 
Name Index, 251, 

CHAPTER 1

Brazil and the United States

Brazil-United States Relations under FHC and Lula

When I arrived in Washington in June 1999, President Bill Clinton had only a year left in his term of office and President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, three. Assuming the embassy in Washington after five and a half years as ambassador in London was the biggest challenge I faced in my career. In the American capital, I witnessed the elections of Presidents George W. Bush, in 2000, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in 2002, and helped in the democratic transfer of power to the Partido dos Trabalhadores (The Workers' Party), as President Cardoso wished.

I lived in Washington during a time I consider to be one of the most significant in the history of Brazil-US relations. It was a period in which Brazil's international visibility had clearly extended beyond Latin America. The tone and content of our bilateral relations would never be the same again.

Relations with the United States during the eight-year presidency of FHC had been pivotal in terms of Brazilian foreign policy. Brazil was reeling from a succession of four international financial crises (Mexico, Asia, Russia and Argentina) and the restoration of financial stability depended on US support, both directly and through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as occurred during the crisis of 1998–1999.

At Clinton's invitation, FHC had visited Washington in the early months of his first term of office and formed a personal rapport with the US president, and this greatly facilitated communication on both sides. At a time of such major internal change in Brazil, the general understanding was that it was important to maintain a constructive relationship with the United States if we were to benefit from our bilateral relations.

A convergence of interests and values did not prevent certain fundamental differences from arising between the two countries, as became evident with regard to the issues of the Mercosur and Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the involvement of the military in the war on drugs. Nevertheless, you could say that these matters were resolved without much ado, and with the Brazilian government always upholding the national interest.

When I arrived in Washington, Brazil was in economic turmoil, much worse than 2011 would turn out to be. The Brazilian government was struggling to stabilize the economy and restore the country's credibility as an investment hotspot. I continued the effort to keep the bureaucratic channels open for the exploration of Brazilian interests, which were concentrated in the financial area at the time. The order was to boost trade-flows and strengthen the already highly diversified ties between Brazil and the United States.

Another aim was to consolidate Brazil's position as the United States's main interlocutor in South America. Washington responded to our foreign policy actions and maintained a positive relationship with Brazil, respecting our characteristics and interests.

In the first year of the Lula administration, Brazil's approach to the United States remained the same as it had been under FHC, as the positive results of the visits both presidents made to Washington in 2002 and 2003 attest.

During his first visit to the United States, on December 10, 2002, Lula, then president-elect, publically stated: "I come to Washington with a message of friendship from Brazil and the aim of beginning four years of frank, constructive, and mutually beneficial relations between our two countries."

After drawing a parallel between Brazil and the United States, the incumbent president declared: "History shows that we failed, at times, to avail ourselves of opportunities to build a wider partnership. We might have derived more benefit from the impetus that came of our shared fight against Nazism in Europe to create, in times of peace, a degree of cooperation worthy of our nations. However, I am convinced our bond can grow, if our societies get to know each other better ... if we shake off our stereotypes and prejudices ... if we learn to value the affinities and respect the differences that exist between us."

On the same visit, during a meeting with Bush, Lula said that he wanted to take relations with the United States to a new level. He proposed that the countries draft a common agenda involving their respective presidents, ministers, diplomatic corps, and commercial sectors, in order to create a much ampler political, diplomatic, and commercial framework for action. It was a move that gave rise to the ensuing slew of comparisons with FHC.

On one hand, Lula genuinely seemed to want to continue with the outgoing government's policy and cement a more mature phase in Brazil–US relations, one geared toward Brazil's traditional target fronts of economic growth, technology transfer and, in the wake of his election, human development and social promotion—"Zero Hunger" was the mantra at the time. Throughout the FHC years and during Lula's first two visits to Washington, our relationship was flourishing. However, while the centrality of bilateral relations between Brazil and the US was initially recognized by the incoming administration, the reality that followed bore little resemblance to the picture President Lula had painted on those first visits.

From 2003 on, Brazil's foreign policy priorities underwent changes that had negative consequences for our relations with the United States. The worldview of the Lula government started to pit the developing countries against the developed world.

The priority placed on South–South relations, with Brazil stepping up its actions in South America, Africa, and the Middle East in terms of politics and trade, and its active pursuit of partnerships with emerging nations, consigned the developed world to the background.

From 2004, the more affirmative foreign policies of the Lula government, such as Brazil's intensified presence on the world stage and its support for the creation of South American institutions that excluded the United States, expanded the areas of friction between the two countries and led to a clash of policy and opinion on themes that extended beyond South America.

In the months preceding my return from Washington in April 2004, there were signs of anti-Americanism in certain sectors of the Lula government, the result of the growing influence the Partido dos Trabalhadores was bringing to bear on foreign policy. The situation had grown increasingly complex in the wake of September 11, as Washington became less tolerant of dissonance.

On the other hand, the convergence of interests and values between Brasilia and Washington—such as the protection of democracy and human rights, free trade and the fight against terrorism and...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Vanderbilt University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2014
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0826520111
• ISBN 13: 9780826520111
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 255
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: preigu; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; 49078; Deutschland