During Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s first stint as Brazil’s president between 2003 and 2010, he conducted what was then called “active and upstanding diplomacy.” This meant not seeing Brazil as a peripheral actor on the global stage and fighting for a more egalitarian balance of power in international relations.
Lula defended a world order that was not so U.S.-centric and invested heavily in South-South relations.
Back in power for a third term, Lula still defends the same principles, but the geopolitical conditions are different this time around. The U.S.-China decoupling and the war in Ukraine make it much harder for countries to navigate between global superpowers in a position of total neutrality, with which Brazil has always been comfortable.
This is especially true when a president is constantly throwing barbs at one side of the conflict.
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In this episode:
- Cedê Silva is The Brazilian Report’s Brasília correspondent. In addition to his journalism degree, Cedê holds a BA in international relations and covers Brazilian politics and international affairs.
Background reading on Lula’s remarks on the Ukraine war:
- Just like it did when Jair Bolsonaro was president, Lula’s Brazil has pledged neutrality on Ukraine and lobbied for the United Nations to use softer language in condemning the Russian-initiated war. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, thanked Brazil for its “contribution” to peace in Ukraine.
- Lula and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a video conversation in March and came away with very different summaries of what was discussed.
- Lula’s first trip outside of South America was to the U.S., a move many saw as a token of respect for Washington (though his delegation to China was much larger). But while Lula will keep the U.S. close, he may want to keep the BRICS closer.
- By not appearing at the U.S.-led Summit for Democracy, the Brazilian president reinforced the perception that, under his leadership, Brazil is closer to China and Russia than to the Western powers.
- During Lula’s China trip, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed 15 bilateral agreements, most of them on technological cooperation.
- Brazilian planemaker Embraer last week announced the launch of an A-29 Super Tucano aircraft in NATO configuration, “with an initial focus on meeting the needs of nations in Europe.” But the move may be hampered by Brazil’s recent decision not to sell ammunition to Germany, lest it end up in Ukraine.
- Even though Brazil won’t sell arms that could be used by Ukraine, the country has sold them to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — two parties involved in the Yemeni civil war.
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