Brazil's Foreign Policy under Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva: An Early Assessment of a Leftist President

Abstract

An analysis of Brazil's foreign policy after Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva's honeymoon period is long overdue. During the pre-election period there was much speculation regarding Brazil's new foreign policy orientation under an administration traditionally identified as left-of-center in Brazilian politics. What will be Brazil's foreign policy priorities? What region(s) will be of concern to Brazil's foreign policy? Will Brazil pursue a foreign policy of closer realignment with the Third World and antagonistic toward the United States? Given Brazil's status as a “monster country” due to its geography, economy, and political potential, it is important to assess this nation's foreign policy in light of the significant changes taking place within the new post-Cold War international system of the twenty-first century, an iniernational system still in its evolutionary process and impacted by the centripetal and centrifugal forces of globalization.