Brazil. Regional political evolution in the beginning of the XXI century

Abstract

“Where Brazil goes, all of Latin America goes.” This expression by American President Richard Nixon has been repeatedly confirmed in history. In the middle of the second decade of the current century in Latin America, the left turn began to be replaced by the “right”. Brazil’s foreign policy has also undergone changes caused by the reconfiguration of domestic politics: after 16 years of the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT), as well as building a system of South American regional integration, forming a new identity of the country, conducting an active foreign policy in a multilateralism paradigm, a cautious approach to relations with the United States, Brazil sharply changed course. The article examines the evolution of the country’s foreign policy towards the Latin American region in the XXI century, while focusing on the analysis of changes in Brazil’s foreign policy vector in the context of regional cooperation and integration formats. Particular attention is paid to examining the position of Brazil in terms of regional leadership. The formation and change of the conceptual positioning of Brazil, the construction of the idea of “South America” and its role in regional integration are also discussed.