The Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Mercosur and the Americas recently received the news text below:
Brazil is once again claiming a greater role and measuring its size on the global stage, leaving behind years of a more conservative foreign policy, according to diplomats and analysts consulted by EL PAÍS. The role in the creation of the BRICS bank and the positioning in the conflict in the Middle East, which earned the country the uncomfortable nickname of “diplomatic dwarf”, can serve as a boost for this new stage in Brazil's international agenda.
However, there are many challenges, especially for the next presidential term in 2015. These include greater regional leadership, especially in the process of revitalizing Mercosur, a resumption of relations with the United States and the conclusion of a trade agreement with the European Union.
Of the three main presidential candidates in the October elections, re-election hopeful Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party (PT) has in mind a greater participation of civil society in defining the guidelines of foreign policy, with a multilateral vision in a scenario of outstanding importance between the BRICS and the countries of the southern hemisphere.
For his part, his opponent, Aécio Neves, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), stresses the importance of paying more attention to Asia, the United States and other developed countries, betting on a more commercial diplomacy, as well as a recovery of Mercosur. Meanwhile, the candidate of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), Eduardo Campos, defends, among other points, the expansion of trade agreements with other countries beyond the borders of the South American bloc.
"The world is waiting for Brazil to emerge from its lull and adopt more concrete resolutions, assuming a higher profile," said Thomas Trebat, director for Latin America at the Columbia Global Center at Columbia University in the United States.
“Brazil has much to gain from a more advanced global profile, not only in terms of national pride, but also in terms of technology, resources and opportunities,” adds Trebat, for whom the priority in foreign policy goes beyond the search for a seat on the UN Security Council.
