No Brazilian leader spent more time abroad during his first 100 days in office than Jair Bolsonaro—and that’s no coincidence. On visits to Switzerland, Chile, the U.S., and Israel, he tried to shape the image of Brazil’s new diplomatic era, “without ideological bias,” drawing both support and criticism. His actions, however, have shown that ideological bias has never been so present in Brazilian diplomacy.
Mr. Bolsonaro’s goal was to promote a 180-degree turn from previous administrations. He decided to remove the Mercosur symbol from the cover of Brazilian passports, join Prosur, a new regional bloc tilted to the right, waive visa requirements to certain developed countries without asking for anything in return, and forge stronger ties with the U.S. by any means necessary.
The true impacts of his actions will be felt with time, but there is no doubt he has already established a clear action plan. After the first shock, he now will have to address matters such as the Venezuela crisis and international trade in an increasingly protectionist world. All of this while balancing the interests of own support base, often contradictory among itself.
Cozying up to Donald Trump
In his first bilateral meeting, Mr. Bolsonaro visited Washington to meet his counterpart and biggest inspiration, President Donald Trump. There, he signed a deal to buy...
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