U.S.- Brazil Relations
Who is Jair Bolsonaro?
Jair Bolsonaro is Brazil’s new president and often compared to United States president Donald Trump. Bolsonaro vision of eradicating corruption, driving down crime, and promoting traditional family values led him to victory. During Bolsonaro’s 27-year career as a congressman, the far-right politician has been known for celebrating the brutal military dictatorship that ruled Brazil for two decades and for repeatedly attacking the country’s black, LGBTQ, and indigenous communities. Jair Bolsonaro has said racist, misogynist, and anti-LGBTQ statements such as “having a daughter is a "weakness", told a congresswoman she was "too ugly" to be raped, claimed some black people were not "even good for procreation", and said he would rather one of his four sons "die in an accident" than be gay.” These statements did not prevent him from winning. Factors that led to Bolsonaro winning the election was his populist message, a disinformation campaign, Brazil’s economic crises, its crime rate, the collapse in the people’s trust in politicians, and the imprisonment of his main rival have led to a far-right takeover of one of the world’s newest democracies. An immediate action that Bolsonaro did when he started as president has issued a decree to put the minister of agriculture in charge of designating protected lands for indigenous peoples a move that’s widely seen as undermining indigenous rights and environmental protections.
Trump- Bolsonaro Press conference Background
President Donald Trump and Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro met at the White House in mid-March. The Brazilian president is like a mirror image of Donald Trump which made this press conference very interesting. During the three-day visit, the two leaders talked about many things including the presence of fake news. Trump and Bolsonaro praised each other over and over again. They talked about the crisis in Venezuela and they both railed against socialism. Both leaders said it was time for Nicolas Maduro to step down in Venezuela. President Trump even said that he would help Brazil join NATO. This is a reversal on President Trump's part because he had said that NATO was obsolete in the past and that countries could only join if their military spends 2% of their GDP on defense. Brazil only spends 1.4% of its GDP on defense. So, the fact that Trump offered to help with this is very interesting. The two leaders expressed hope that the end of socialism would take place in the Western Hemisphere sometime in the near future. They have promised to bring freedom and democracy to the people of Venezuela. Brazil has promised to play a substantial role in this process. The two leaders also talked about major right-wing talking points such as God, traditional family lifestyles and the existence of fake news in our societies. Trump praised Bolsonaro for using the term fake news. Trump also called the Brazilian president an extraordinary leader. Bolsonaro also backed up Trump on the border wall by basically saying that most immigrants were dangerous and did not have good intentions. The two leaders also talked about military options to resolve the situation in Venezuela. Bolsonaro also stressed the importance of a strong US Brazilian relationship. It is ironic that the US and Brazil are the two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere because both of their leaders take steps to oppress civil liberties.
Amazon Impact
One of the biggest concern around Bolsonaro`s administration is the possible impact on the Amazon forest and the indigenous people who live in it. During his campaign Bolsonaro made his stance clear; he sees the Amazon forest as a resource and looks to expand trade from it. Bolsonaro has already proposed building roadways through protected forested areas. What is more, the president has threatened to withdraw Brazil from the Paris climate agreement. While this exit still only remains a threat many are skeptical that the Paris agreement will hinder Bolsonaro from increasing the environmental impact of Brazil. Bolsonaro is extremely friendly to heavy carbon footprint industries such as the oil and gas industry with many expecting this business to thrive under the new administration.
Bolsonaro disregard for the Amazon rainforest extends to the indigenous people who live within it. The president has been quoted saying the indigenous people needed to “either adapt or simply vanish”. With the new administration taking over many believe illegal loggers and land grabbers will find very little push back from the government if they were to threaten the indigenous people. Bolsonaro`s policies and stances could lead to disaster to not only the rainforest but the people who have lived within it for years.
The Amazon needs to be protected due to its position as a vital resource to not just the locals but the world as a whole. It is considered the lungs of the planet and is responsible for absorbing 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. It has also been shrinking thanks to deforestation, with 27,772 square kilometers being cleared in 2004. Since then conservation movements have been made to preserve it. These movements have found success with the number of square miles being cut to 4,571. However, these efforts may be abandoned under Bolsonaro`s leadership exacerbating the environmental problems our planet faces.
Brazil, China and the U.S.
Since 2009, China has been Brazil largest trade partner and in 2018, Brazilian exports to China were almost double what it exported to the United States. At the same time, investment into Brazil has also grown, including in sensitive industries such as telecommunications. And the due the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, economic ties between the two countries have grown even larger, with Brazilian soy farmers benefiting from Chinese tariffs on American soybeans in particular. However these development have not been well received by everyone in Brazil, who worry that increased economic dependence on China may weaken Brazil independence. During his campaign, then presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro has taken a noticeably anti-China rhetorical stance that concords with much of the rhetoric of the Trump Administration, even claiming at one point that “China isn’t buying in Brazil. It’s buying Brazil.” Bolsonaro even visited Taiwan during campaign, much to the consternation of Beijing, whose embassy in Brasilia launched a formal protest.
All of this occurs alongside rhetoric suggesting a desire for closer ties with the United States, as best scene in the recent press conference with President Trump, during which he announced that Brazil would be designated a “major non-NATO ally”; a sharp contrast to the more ambivalent attitudes towards American shared by previous governments. Many have argued that Bolsonaro will not actually pursue strongly anti-China economic policy because the Brazilian needs Chinese investment and customers, who purchase significant amounts of agricultural projects from the developing South American country. And indeed his public rhetoric towards China has noticeably cooled since taking office, while a visit by the Brazilian President to China is also in the works. Instead, President Bolsonaro will likely try to take advantage of increase Sino-American rivalry. While much media attention gets devoted to rapidly increasing Chinese investment in Africa, Chinese firms have also poured money into Latin America as well. China has also recently opened a small satellite tracking facility in Argentina, which borders Brazil. Though ostensibly constructed for civilian purposes, some have worried that it will also be used with dual-purpose military applications in mind, and serves as another example of increasing geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and China, of which, at least for now, Jair Bolsonaro is interested in becoming a larger part of.
Recommendation
The similarities between president Trump and Bolsonaro are quite concerning when it comes to progressive ideas in the world. Many of the things Bolsonaro has said are very revealing of his character and how he feels about others that are different from him. This along with his policies regarding climate change could be dangerous for the world. With the Amazon being such a vital resource functioning as the “lung” of the planet we must be careful with how we handle him. With Trump as the president, these ideas seem to pose even more of a threat as he seems to align himself with these climate change ideas. They both seem to be more worried about increasing trade than about the environmental health of the world. If trying to slow global warming is a priority to the American people that they must be careful about moving forward with people like this. The American voters must pick what they value more and vote for leaders that will fight for their opinions. With things like the Paris Climate Agreement, we must be very careful to vote for those who trust science and will not act strictly based on monetary incentives.
Bibliography
Great job with this memo post. I think it is so important that this issue is discussed in this current political climate. It was mentioned of the irony of Trump and Balsonaro being elected as Presidents of the largest democracies in the Western hemisphere when they are infamous for crushing democracy and individual rights. This is something that speaks to the corruption of political systems that Trump or Balsonaro could have even been elected to these mass positions of power when the majority of their constituents opposed it.
ReplyDelete-Shannon S
Overall I thought this was a great blog post that shows how controversial right-wing leaders are being democratically elected in multiple countries across the globe, not just the United States. That being said, I think a section that highlights how these types of candidates are gaining popularity would be valuable to further your argument. These leaders have been democratically elected in areas beyond the Western Hemisphere I think it would be helpful to explicitly show this in a separate subheading.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good post and you did a great job of presenting the issues in Brazil that are often not always talked about. I think with one more round of edits and this blog would have been great. As horrible as Bolsonaro is, I would look to the people – he couldn’t have been voted in without major support. His remarks are terrible, but others must feel the same or see him as the better candidate that fits their own goals for Brazil. The blog really highlights on the similarities between Bolsonaro and President Trump but what about being compared to Modero? Both are actually atrocious leaders and at least Trump is bound by strict democracy boundaries and the people. Bolsonaro may say Modero should step down but he could still easily agree with how Modero chooses to run Venezuela.
ReplyDeleteYour memo did a good job of presenting the material in a concise manner and summarizing the main points so the reader understands the crux of the matter. The US-Brazil relationship will only get more important in the future as they are the two largest democracies in the western hemisphere. Your recommendation section also highlights the similarities between the two leaders and their rise to power via populism in their respective countries.
ReplyDelete-Adam Miller
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ReplyDeleteThis memo does a great job discussing the similarities between President Trump and President Bolsonaro and the potential problems that may result from his presidency. Some scholars are concerned that his presidency may lead to democratic backsliding possibly similar to that in Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega. Specifically, many Brazilians are suspicious of the appointment of Sergio Moro into Bolsonaro's cabinet after his essential role in indicting Lula. Concern also remains over his close ties with the military and appointment of several former military generals into his cabinet. Although Bolsonaro definitely represents a threat to civil liberties, the institutions in place in Brazil, especially the strong judiciary, should be able to prevent consolidation of power that could unravel democracy.
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ReplyDeleteOwen de Graaf-
ReplyDeleteThis Memo does a fantastic job at comparing both presidents (Trump and Bolsonaro). I enjoyed how you explained the problems the country could face with his presidency. This is very similar to what the US has been experiencing and how people are very uncertain of our foreign affairs as they are much different than in the past. Furthermore, this topic is definitely important because the corruption that is happening needs to be put to an end. Having a country with corruption doesn't work well. Whether they look to transition in the future or fit the problem now this is the main concern for the people which should urgently be taken care of. Overall, this was an excellent memo, Great Job!
This memo did a great job with regards to how the views of President Trump are impacting the policies and rhetoric of other countries' leaders. The section informing on Brazil, China, and the US was new information for me. I did not know how economically intertwined Brazil and China are. Additionally, it is incredibly important for the President of Brazil to protect the Amazon not only for the people who live within it, but for the rest of the world since it is a viable location for many species of trees and animals. The Amazon is the main way the planet is able to break down carbon dioxide emissions, without its protection the planet will not be able to sustain itself.
ReplyDeleteThis memo did an excellent job of informing us about the current political climate. It is interesting to see Brazil elect a leader that seems to have some similar policies with our President. This seems to be a trend across the world that has been a rise in the numbers of very far right candidates winning elections. That could have been an interesting section to add to this memo just to give the readers some more information as to the similarities between this election and others as well as explaining why this is happening.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought this blog post was very informative and the group did a good job outlining the important pieces of US-Brazil relations. I enjoyed reading the section on the Amazon and I think that is a very important issue that needs more global attention. As others have said, the memo brings up an interesting theme of the rise of right-wing leaders and it would be interesting to compare Bolsonaro and Trump to the leadership styles of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, Marie Le Pen in France, or Viktor Orbán in Hungary. As US-Brazil relations deepen, it will be interesting to see how they do so with the Trump administration, and how they will transform when the current administration leaves the White House.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I though the memo did an excellent job at explaining how the new regime in Brazil has begun to relate with the United States. I believe that the new regime which is quite similar to Trump's brings an interesting balance of power to the region given the United States previous relations with much of South America. As others have said the recommendation is quite interesting given the rise of right wing populism both here in the United States and abroad, an issue that I believe should be examined further in order to see the deep rooted cause of its rise.
ReplyDeleteGreat job with the memo here I really learned a lot from this. Since I am such an environmentalist type of person I really agreed with the part about the Amazon being such a vital resource functioning as the “lung” of the planet we must be careful with how we handle him. With Trump as the president, these ideas seem to pose even more of a threat as he seems to align himself with these climate change ideas. I think this was definitely a good job that we as Americans really need to address in order to take care of our earth. Really good memo!
ReplyDeleteJoslyn janeczek
This memo did a great job of explaining the similarities between Bolsonaro and Trump as well as explaining the relationship between the U.S and Brazil. This post also discussed the growing relationship between Brazil and China which was very informative. The increasing relations between China and Brazil are critical to understanding as the trade war with China progresses which the memo thoroughly explains. I also enjoyed the sections regarding the environmental stance of Bolsonaro, and how that is very similar to Trump's beliefs on the topic. Environmental policies need to be more acknowledged, and I find the lack of interest of Bolsonaro to be awful as it will affect the populations who lived in the area. Overall, this memo effectively explains the topic well.
ReplyDeleteThe memo was informative and very interesting to see the similarities between President Trump and President Bolsonaro. I also thought the section on Bolsonaro's actions towards the environment and how this could threaten the Amazon to be a crucial issue. The Amazon is a very vital region to the world and for President Bolsonaro to disregard its importance is irresponsible. It is essential that governments learn to create policies and initiatives that protect the environment. As the recommendation section stated governments and leaders should not be so motivated by monetary incentives that they overlook environmental concerns.
ReplyDeleteI found this memo very interesting because it was an issue widely discussed around the time of the election, yet recently, is absent from news headlines. I found Bolsonaro's rhetoric very concerning since Brazil is one of the world's rising economies and within the next decade I think they will yield a vast amount of power. Since Brazil is leaning toward gaining a lot of power in the coming years, Bolsonaro is the wrong person to lead the country into the future. One issue I found with the memo was the structure of it but it did not impact the flow of the memo.
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