Brazil’s clout in the Middle East, explained

By Cedê Silva

A year ago, a major scandal dominated the headlines in Brazil: the Jair Bolsonaro administration had made several attempts to smuggle into Brazil more than USD 3 million worth of jewelry gifted by the government of Saudi Arabia.

Initially, the public debate about the scandal focused on the efforts by Mr. Bolsonaro’s aides to bypass customs authorities and illegally seize the jewels. Months later, a Federal Police operation revealed that aides to the former president systematically sold or attempted to sell other official gifts given to Brazilian officials, many of them from Gulf countries.

Less attention was paid to why exactly the Saudi and other Arab governments were so eager to shower Brazilian officials with lavish gifts and woo Mr. Bolsonaro and his delegations with luxurious trips. In late 2021, for example, during a visit to Bahrain, Mr. Bolsonaro said, “it seems to me that this is more than my second home.” During the trip, he filmed a video inside the luxury hotel where he stayed and said the King of Bahrain paid his expenses. 

A closer examination reveals not only why Saudi Arabia wanted a closer relationship with Brazil, but also Brazil’s significant importance to the Middle East as a whole.

Diplomatic correspondence first obtained by the journalism nonprofit Agência Pública shows that in 2021, Saudi officials invited Brazil to join OPEC Plus, a looser association adjacent to the cartel of major oil-producing countries that in recent years has focused on reducing oil production to stabilize oil prices after the Covid pandemic. 

The invitation came during a visit to Riyadh by Brazil’s then-mines and energy minister, Bento Albuquerque. It was from that very trip that the Brazilian delegation returned with the jewels that were confiscated by customs officials, and which Mr. Bolsonaro’s aides tried to retrieve in late 2022.

Under Mr. Bolsonaro, Brazil neither officially accepted nor rejected the invitation to join OPEC Plus, but the current Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration is openly considering it.