Ten months ago, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal, was told that Jair Bolsonaro, then his counterpart in Brazil, had canceled the lunch between the heads of state in Brasília, scheduled for 48 hours later. Yesterday Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro’s successor, arrived in Lisbon to meet not only Marcelo, but also Prime Minister António Costa, among other events on the agenda. More: Lula chose Portugal as his first destination days after his election. What changed in the relationship between the two countries with the change of president in Brazil in October 2022?
“Lula’s visit before his inauguration, in November, already symbolized that a lot had changed and that a new chapter had begun in the relationship between Brazil and Portugal after the strained and relaxed relations during the Bolsonaro government,” said DN Carolina. Pavese, Professor of International Relations at Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing. “However, the place of the cancellation of the meeting between President Marcelo and then President Bolsonaro was only one more in a general context of exodus and isolation of Brazil in the field of foreign relations for four years,” continues the researcher specialized in the relations of the South American country with Europe.
Just look if Lula has already met the same number of heads of state in just 100 days as Bolsonaro has in four years. And after meeting Marcelo, Costa and other Portuguese authorities, he plans to travel to three African countries, to be present at the G7, at the invitation of Japan, to Kiev, after a talk with Volodymyr Zelensky, at the 2nd, and maybe to Russia.
Bolsonaro and Ernesto Araújo, his original secretary of state, created friction with China, Norway, France and Arab countries and maintained an almost idolatrous relationship with Donald Trump, Biden’s predecessor, “an envoy from God,” according to Araújo, who An “I love youIn contrast, one of the pillars of Lula’s foreign policy is the environment, whose ministry is today headed by Marina Silva, an internationally renowned ecologist, replacing Ricardo Salles, the Bolsonarist who was even voted “worst minister” by a magazine. in the world, defending the action of loggers and miners in the Amazon.
However, Lula’s appreciation for relations with Portugal goes back a long way. “During Lula’s first two governments, there was a strengthening of relations between Brazil and Portugal, with Portugal playing an important role in bringing Brazil closer to the European Union. It is worth noting that the Brazil-EU Summit took place in 2007, when José Manuel Durão Barroso was President of the European Commission, this role of Portugal is strategic for Brazil at a time when Portugal wants to reactivate the Mercosur-EU agreements,” Pavese added.
“There is of course interest in the bilateral relationship with strategic partners, such as Portugal, with which Brazil is part of multilateral organizations, such as the CPLP, the PALOP, for cultural, historical and social issues, but there is even a greater connection in areas such as education , trade and investment, as Portugal still has a modest weight in the Brazilian economy,” says the researcher.
Leonardo Trevisan, a specialist in economics and international relations, reminds DN that “from Portugal to Brazil, investments are small”. “In 2021 it was only 88 million euros and in 2022 it grew to 127 million, but still well below what is possible if we compare it with other countries of similar size and GDP or even weaker than Portugal’s”.
However, there are noises in the relationship between Portugal and Brazil, due to statements made by Lula in recent days about the conflict in Ukraine, which annoyed Washington and Brussels. Among other things, the Brazilian leader said that “President Putin is not taking any peace initiatives, President Zelensky is not taking any peace initiatives, and Europe and the United States are ultimately contributing to the continuation of this war.”
For Pavese, the issue should strategically remain outside the talks between Lula and the Portuguese heads of state and government. “I do not believe, precisely in order not to create tension in a meeting to strengthen ties, that the question of the war in Ukraine is being brought to the table, not least because Portugal has been less involved than France or Germany in the conflict, also because it is a peninsula, I believe that on this subject people only talk about strengthening efforts for peace and human rights, as is customary”.
Source: DN
