• Competition policy

Competition policy

Brazil is increasingly becoming an important player in world politics, both within the South American context and globally as one of the so-called BRICs. This essay examines the main lines of Brazilian foreign policy in the current presidency of Luís Inácio Lula da Silva. It discusses Lula’s chief initiatives on the international level, the current limitations that exist and the players that may determine Brazil's potential as a player at the regional and global levels.

The essay is structured around the following four questions:

• What have been the changes and continuities in Brazilian foreign policy?
• What are the motives and interests guiding Brazil in its attempt to shape a new foreign policy?
• What foreign policy strategies stem from Brazil’s posture and where is their focus?
• What does this all mean for the international order?

Key points include the following: 

• Lula’s first term (2003-2006) saw continuity in the economic arena but a marked change in discourse and handling of diplomacy
• specifically, Lula’s presidency saw multilateralism take an evident "anti-hegemonist” leaning and a greater emphasis on South-South diplomacy and trade, pursued through efforts to broaden Mercosur
• the changes which effectively took place were much less significant or important than the disourse suggested, partly due to Brazil’s modest weight on a global scale
• Lula’s current diplomatic priorities include enhancing relations with the great world powers, strengthening ties with the Southern world, especially Africa, and building a union of developing countries to increase negotiating clout in North-South trade talks
• the Lula administration has promoted these priorities through all instruments of foreign policy – multilateralism, bilateral relations and in-formal mechanisms of cooperation
• the regional diplomacy of Lula’s second term is more cautious and realistic than during the first term.

Looking to the future, the paper predicts that Brazil will continue to advance, but not in a rhythm that will put it at the head of the world economy in the near future. Despite Lula’s diplomatic efforts, the paper concludes that the emergence of Brazil as a major regional and global player depends much more on continuity in its internal process of economic reforms and policy-making, than on its ability to project itself abroad.

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