Brazil and the United States: The Need for Strategic Engagement

Key Points

Brazil’s economic performance, political stability, and cultural vitality ensure that Brasilia’s foreign and defense policies will help shape global as well as regional politics in the decades ahead. More than a Latin American or even Third World leader, Brazil has become an autonomous global power.
U.S. relations with Brazil have evolved from alliance during and immediately after World War II to skeptical distance today. Distrust is exacerbated by outmoded stereotypes and hubris on both sides.
Mutually beneficial engagement requires the United States to welcome Brazil’s emergence as a global power that is culturally and politically close to the United States; and for Brazil, in turn, to realize that the United States accepts its rise and that more can be achieved working with Washington than against it.
Three practical approaches would have a substantial, positive impact. Both countries should consult widely on global issues, strengthen personal and institutional ties, and learn to cooperate more effectively on conflict resolution, energy, and trade.

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