RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian Vice President, Hamilton Mourão, is going to London on September 7th. At the request of President Jair Bolsonaro, he will review trade agreements between Brazil and the United Kingdom and certainly also exchange a few friendly words and thoughts with conservative and similarly minded members of the new government.
For Mourão, the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union can offer excellent opportunities for Brazilian foreign trade.
“All those who are in tune and with this world view have to start thinking about how to deal with this new government. President Bolsonaro has already commissioned me. On September 7th, I am going to London to establish the first contacts with the new British government and start this work of extremely important rapprochement,” he said in a lecture at the Trade Association of Rio de Janeiro.
UK Prime Minister Johnson is a controversial figure within British politics and journalism. Supporters have praised him as an entertaining, humorous, and popular figure, with an appeal stretching beyond traditional conservative voters.
Johnson has been criticized by figures on both the left and the right for using racist and homophobic language, as well as alleged elitism, cronyism, dishonesty, and laziness. He is the subject of several biographies and a number of fictionalized portrayals.
He was elected as the successor to Prime Minister Theresa May in the leadership of the Conservative Party and, as a result, assumed the leadership of the country’s government.
During the campaign, Johnson promised to succeed where May failed and take the UK out of the European Union (EU) on October 31st, with or without agreement.
Argentina
During his lecture, the vice president stressed that it is necessary to maintain trade relations with Argentina, regardless of who is in government.
Mourão said he would like president Mauricio Macri to remain in office, although the Argentinian political scenario has strong indications of a victory for lawyer Alberto Fernández, supported by former president Cristina Kirchner, in the October 27th elections. Mourão recalled that Argentina is Brazil’s third-largest trading partner.
“Most of our manufactured products are sold to Argentina, so we have to maintain that link, not only because of that but also because of the historical links we have. I like to remember the great thinkers of international relations. Lord Palmerston (British politician of the 19th century) used to say that he does not have eternal friendships, nor perpetual enemies. There are our interests. So, we have to seek our interests, and our interests are within Argentina too, and we have to relate to them,” he said.