For all his legal travails in Brazil over the past several years, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s international reputation seems largely unscathed. This is mainly a result of the implicit and explicit comparison made by world leaders between the former president and Jair Bolsonaro, the current occupant of Brazil’s highest office.
At international meetings, Mr. Bolsonaro comes off as churlish, awkward, dim, and shallow, whereas Lula is gregarious, warm, informal, and open. Critics of the former president characterize his style as a cheap brand of populism, yet its effectiveness is hard to deny.
Popularity matters in international diplomacy, and it is obvious that this is an area in which Mr. Bolsonaro struggles. Two recent developments prove how a leader’s image may affect their country on the international stage.
In reaction to Mr. Bolsonaro’s threats to disrupt the electoral process in October, a group of six Democrat lawmakers in the U.S. submitted an amendment to the national defense budget which would cut military aid to Brazil should the country’s Armed Forces interfere with the upcoming October elections.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the European Union approved a resolution targeting the country, strongly condemning “the increasing violence, attacks, and harassment against human rights and environmental defenders, indigenous peoples, minorities, and journalists.”
Presidents are elected to serve their people first, meaning foreign approbation is not necessarily a priority. However, being in the good graces of heads of state and audiences...
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