Brian Winter
By Brian Winter
Every time Brazil and the United States get to the altar, the roof of the church seems to collapse.
In 1982, US President Ronald Reagan traveled to Brazil for a dinner banquet meant to herald a new era in ties between the Americas’ two biggest countries. But when Reagan raised his wine glass and toasted “the people of Bolivia,” it seemed to confirm his hosts’ worst fears: that the United States saw Brazil as just another poor country in its so-called backyard.
This week, hopes for a breakthrough fell apart once again, in even more dramatic fashion. President Dilma Rousseff’s decision to call off her upcoming state visit to the White House, the only formal event of its kind planned in Washington this year, is an embarrassing setback that will probably stymie cooperation on trade, regional affairs and other issues for years to come.
Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist, was outraged over recent revelations that the US National Security Agency spied on her private communications, as well as her top aides. While the two countries will retain generally cordial ties, Rousseff plans to take some retaliatory measures, including onerous new taxes and rules for US Internet companies operating in Brazil, and ruling out a purchase of fighter jets from Chicago-based Boeing Co., officials said.
She said the espionage is “incompatible” with a relationship among allies, and told aides it was pointless to go ahead with a trip whose ostensible purpose was to symbolise growing respect. The cancellation of such a high-profile visit despite two last-minute, personal appeals to Rousseff by President Barack Obama upset officials from both countries.
It also caused a familiar sense of disappointment among observers who have long rooted for better ties between two giant democracies with similar histories as multiracial melting pots. In another recent example of a promising moment gone somewhat awry, Obama made a big show in 2011 of taking his wife and daughters on a trip to Brazil, heralding “even greater cooperation for decades to come.” But many Brazilian officials felt that, when Obama showed up late at the presidential palace because he was coordinating US missile strikes on Libya, it was a classic sign of a distracted imperial power.
Moises Naim, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said the state visit would have been a great opportunity to put such episodes firmly in the past and overcome a long legacy of mistrust. “We were so close this time,” he lamented. Each country had big hopes for the October 23 event, which would have included a black-tie dinner at the White House and a military salute for Rousseff.
For Brazil, the visit offered validation that after an economic boom over the past 20 years, their country had arrived as a global power worthy of Washington’s highest formal honor. Rousseff hoped the trip would open up a new wave of US investment in Latin America’s largest economy, which has struggled since she took office in 2011. A photo-op with Obama would also have brandished her moderate credentials as she prepares for a likely re-election bid next year.
For its part, Washington hoped that rolling out the red carpet for Rousseff would help bend her ear on several issues, above all in securing better access for US firms to a huge market with 200 million increasingly voracious consumers. Because of high tariffs, Brazil has the most closed economy to trade in the Western Hemisphere. When US Vice President Joe Biden visited in May, he urged Brazil to drop those barriers if it wants to become a strategic US ally.
“It’s up to Brazil to decide whether to pursue this path and seize the opportunities,” Biden said. In retrospect, that comment may have reflected an issue that has plagued Brazil-US ties: Unrealistic expectations. Like most Brazilian politicians, Rousseff harbors a deep mistrust of free trade, particularly on Washington’s terms. On several occasions, she has accused the United States of unfairly boosting its exports through expansionary monetary policy.
As the visit grew closer, some Brazilian officials expressed concerns that Washington was placing too much emphasis on trade. It also became clear the trip would not yield breakthroughs on two long-time Brazilian goals: Visa-free travel for its citizens to the United States and US support for Brazil’s push to have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Diplomats hoped the trip would at least give leaders a chance to build lasting personal bonds at the formal dinners that are part of state visits. The NSA revelations seemed to exploit each country’s worst suspicions of the other. Brazil saw the espionage, which also included US monitoring of state-run oil company Petrobras, as another sign that the United States is an entrenched superpower that will do anything to block the rise of others.
Meanwhile, many in Washington saw Rousseff’s reaction to the revelations — which included a demand for an apology and a full accounting of US intelligence activities - as further evidence of Brazil’s exaggerated sense of self-importance and naivete about what it means to be a major world power.
Rousseff has pushed new legislation that seeks to force Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and other foreign Internet companies to store locally gathered data on servers in Brazil. The bill is designed to improve Internet security and also retaliate for US spying, Brazilian officials have said. Rousseff is likely to become an even more vocal opponent of US espionage, including at this month’s meeting of the United Nations, officials say.
Meanwhile, Rousseff’s handling of the episode has solidified impressions that she is unable to insert Brazil more fully into the world both economically and strategically. That’s an impression that could linger among foreign companies looking to invest in Brazil, as well as other governments.
Reuters
By Brian Winter
Every time Brazil and the United States get to the altar, the roof of the church seems to collapse.
In 1982, US President Ronald Reagan traveled to Brazil for a dinner banquet meant to herald a new era in ties between the Americas’ two biggest countries. But when Reagan raised his wine glass and toasted “the people of Bolivia,” it seemed to confirm his hosts’ worst fears: that the United States saw Brazil as just another poor country in its so-called backyard.
This week, hopes for a breakthrough fell apart once again, in even more dramatic fashion. President Dilma Rousseff’s decision to call off her upcoming state visit to the White House, the only formal event of its kind planned in Washington this year, is an embarrassing setback that will probably stymie cooperation on trade, regional affairs and other issues for years to come.
Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist, was outraged over recent revelations that the US National Security Agency spied on her private communications, as well as her top aides. While the two countries will retain generally cordial ties, Rousseff plans to take some retaliatory measures, including onerous new taxes and rules for US Internet companies operating in Brazil, and ruling out a purchase of fighter jets from Chicago-based Boeing Co., officials said.
She said the espionage is “incompatible” with a relationship among allies, and told aides it was pointless to go ahead with a trip whose ostensible purpose was to symbolise growing respect. The cancellation of such a high-profile visit despite two last-minute, personal appeals to Rousseff by President Barack Obama upset officials from both countries.
It also caused a familiar sense of disappointment among observers who have long rooted for better ties between two giant democracies with similar histories as multiracial melting pots. In another recent example of a promising moment gone somewhat awry, Obama made a big show in 2011 of taking his wife and daughters on a trip to Brazil, heralding “even greater cooperation for decades to come.” But many Brazilian officials felt that, when Obama showed up late at the presidential palace because he was coordinating US missile strikes on Libya, it was a classic sign of a distracted imperial power.
Moises Naim, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said the state visit would have been a great opportunity to put such episodes firmly in the past and overcome a long legacy of mistrust. “We were so close this time,” he lamented. Each country had big hopes for the October 23 event, which would have included a black-tie dinner at the White House and a military salute for Rousseff.
For Brazil, the visit offered validation that after an economic boom over the past 20 years, their country had arrived as a global power worthy of Washington’s highest formal honor. Rousseff hoped the trip would open up a new wave of US investment in Latin America’s largest economy, which has struggled since she took office in 2011. A photo-op with Obama would also have brandished her moderate credentials as she prepares for a likely re-election bid next year.
For its part, Washington hoped that rolling out the red carpet for Rousseff would help bend her ear on several issues, above all in securing better access for US firms to a huge market with 200 million increasingly voracious consumers. Because of high tariffs, Brazil has the most closed economy to trade in the Western Hemisphere. When US Vice President Joe Biden visited in May, he urged Brazil to drop those barriers if it wants to become a strategic US ally.
“It’s up to Brazil to decide whether to pursue this path and seize the opportunities,” Biden said. In retrospect, that comment may have reflected an issue that has plagued Brazil-US ties: Unrealistic expectations. Like most Brazilian politicians, Rousseff harbors a deep mistrust of free trade, particularly on Washington’s terms. On several occasions, she has accused the United States of unfairly boosting its exports through expansionary monetary policy.
As the visit grew closer, some Brazilian officials expressed concerns that Washington was placing too much emphasis on trade. It also became clear the trip would not yield breakthroughs on two long-time Brazilian goals: Visa-free travel for its citizens to the United States and US support for Brazil’s push to have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Diplomats hoped the trip would at least give leaders a chance to build lasting personal bonds at the formal dinners that are part of state visits. The NSA revelations seemed to exploit each country’s worst suspicions of the other. Brazil saw the espionage, which also included US monitoring of state-run oil company Petrobras, as another sign that the United States is an entrenched superpower that will do anything to block the rise of others.
Meanwhile, many in Washington saw Rousseff’s reaction to the revelations — which included a demand for an apology and a full accounting of US intelligence activities - as further evidence of Brazil’s exaggerated sense of self-importance and naivete about what it means to be a major world power.
Rousseff has pushed new legislation that seeks to force Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and other foreign Internet companies to store locally gathered data on servers in Brazil. The bill is designed to improve Internet security and also retaliate for US spying, Brazilian officials have said. Rousseff is likely to become an even more vocal opponent of US espionage, including at this month’s meeting of the United Nations, officials say.
Meanwhile, Rousseff’s handling of the episode has solidified impressions that she is unable to insert Brazil more fully into the world both economically and strategically. That’s an impression that could linger among foreign companies looking to invest in Brazil, as well as other governments.
Reuters
