Never before seen in Brazil: Luis Inácio Lula da Silva's grand diplomacy

Abstract

Critical assessment of Luis Inácio Lula da Silva's diplomacy, which departed from the previous patterns of the Brazilian Foreign Service, to align itself with the political conceptions of the Workers' Party. This diplomacy has neither consolidated the position of Brazil as a regional leader, nor attained its declared goal of inserting Brazil into the United Nations Security Council, although it has reinforced Brazil's image in the international scenarios; but this was achieved much more through the personal activism of the President himself, than through normal diplomatic work.

Brazil in Regional and Global Governance:Foreign Policy, Leadership and UNASUR

“…Moreover, he added that Brazil is not acknowledged as a "natural leader" within its own region, let alone as a great power by the "world community." He writes that it is "probably an exaggeration" to consider Brazil as a "natural leader" for South America, other than its own sense of "grandeur"; that Brazil lacks the "'subjective' criteria" linked to great power status, meaning "willing acceptance by the neighboring countries of such a role," ranging from the mid-level actors (Argentina and Colombia) to the smaller countries [Almeida, 2010]. According to him, the countries of the region are "not yet ready to accept Brazil as their regional representative or want it to act as a kind of unelected speaker on their behalf."…”

The 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Brazil's soft power

“…A key strategy of the Lula government's foreign policy was to attempt to coordinate governance with these -North-South cooperation -and other countries - While all these arguments are subject to criticisms from domestic and regional authors and politicians, such as in Argentina, Colombia and other smaller states (Almeida 2010), the regional leadership is particularly controversial. Some authors understand that Brazil was not effective as a regional leader during the Lula government (Malamud 2011, Almeida 2010.…”

“…Some authors understand that Brazil was not effective as a regional leader during the Lula government (Malamud 2011, Almeida 2010. Vigevani et al (2008) argue that regional integration is still a foreign policy strategy objective but is no longer a priority.…”

“…We believe that there may have been political interest in regional relations but that there is not from the national elites, for whom the needs or profits of this integration are questionable. While regional integration and Brazil's position as regional leader was not reinforced in Lula's government, the rise of Brazil in a global sense is nonetheless generally accepted (Malamud 2011, Almeida 2010, Sotero 2010, Cervo 2010, Hurrell 2008. Accordingly, while some advocate that the country has asserted its interests in the international sphere (Malamud 2011, Cervo 2010, Sotero 2010, Hurrell 2008, others believe that Brazil's status is not recognized internationally yet (Almeida 2010).…”

“…While regional integration and Brazil's position as regional leader was not reinforced in Lula's government, the rise of Brazil in a global sense is nonetheless generally accepted (Malamud 2011, Almeida 2010, Sotero 2010, Cervo 2010, Hurrell 2008. Accordingly, while some advocate that the country has asserted its interests in the international sphere (Malamud 2011, Cervo 2010, Sotero 2010, Hurrell 2008, others believe that Brazil's status is not recognized internationally yet (Almeida 2010). Among the challenges and risks to improving Brazil's status in international affairs, there are: lack of regional support, conflicting interests with strategic partners, lower growth in GDP and decrease in the international trade participation (Malamud 2011, Almeida 2010, Sotero 2010).…”