Relations between the US and Brazil are somewhat, well, weird. These days, Brazil is growing like wildfire, and as should be expected, it intends to make sure its economic rise is coupled with a more important place on the world stage. But power is in many ways a zero-sum game, and Brazil's gains inevitably come as the expense of the United States.
Yet there doesn't seem to be much animosity, either historical or current. Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is a pragmatic center-left leader, as is Obama. And unlike many, Lula didn't seem to have too much difficulty getting along with Bush, either (they bonded over having ranches).
A good case in point is Lula's arrival to DC today for President Obama's "Nuclear Security Summit." (BTW, one fun note is to think about all the shenanigans that will be going down when 46 country delegations converge on DC--PARTY!!!!)
Lula's firm stance against Iran sanctions have been a thorn in the US' side. And his statement today that it's “understandable” that Iran wants atomic weapons because it feels threatened by Pakistan and Israel is exactly the opposite of what the US and Europeans who are pressing for Iran sanctions wanted to hear.
Add to this the less strategically important brush-up over the Honduran crisis, and you would expect things to be pretty rocky between Washington and Brasilia. Yet....they're not really. On the same day that Lula made his comments, Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim met with Robert Gates at the Pentagon and the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement.
A good case in point is Lula's arrival to DC today for President Obama's "Nuclear Security Summit." (BTW, one fun note is to think about all the shenanigans that will be going down when 46 country delegations converge on DC--PARTY!!!!)
Lula's firm stance against Iran sanctions have been a thorn in the US' side. And his statement today that it's “understandable” that Iran wants atomic weapons because it feels threatened by Pakistan and Israel is exactly the opposite of what the US and Europeans who are pressing for Iran sanctions wanted to hear.
Add to this the less strategically important brush-up over the Honduran crisis, and you would expect things to be pretty rocky between Washington and Brasilia. Yet....they're not really. On the same day that Lula made his comments, Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim met with Robert Gates at the Pentagon and the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement.
With China now seemingly leaning towards sanctions, and since Brazil can't veto the actions of the five major Security Council members, Brazil's position becomes somewhat moot. And so, I guess the occasional friendly head butting can go on without much damage.
Online Sources: Foreign Policy, Americas Quarterly, AFP, True/Slant, BBC, Business Week, Alertnet
Image Source: New York Botanical Garden (nybg.org)
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