Brazil and U.S. Forge New Pact to Work Against Authoritarian Governments

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s new Foreign Minister, Ernesto Araújo, said Wednesday that the country is starting a new age of Brazilian diplomacy and foreign policy, which includes the strengthening of the relationship between Brazil and the United States.

“Brazil is realigning itself with its own ideals, and Itamaraty is realigning itself with the Brazilian people,” said Araujo in his first press conference as head of the Foreign Ministry.

According to Araujo, the new relationship with the United States is a ‘consequence’ of the new strategies to be implemented by the Bolsonaro Administration.

“We are at the beginning of a new phase that will be very productive, I am sure, in the relationship between Brazil and the United States,” stated the official after meeting with US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.

“We exchanged ideas about our vision of the world, how to work together for the good, for a different international order that corresponds to the values of our people,” added Araujo.

The US official agreed with his Brazilian counterpart stating that President Trump wants to forge closer ties with the Bolsonaro administration in several fields, including the economic arena and in the area of security, with the two countries working together against authoritarian regimes.

“We are talking about our deep desire for the resumption of democracy for the Venezuelan people,” stated Pompeo on Tuesday.

Citing human rights violations conducted by the governments of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, representatives from the three Latin American countries were not invited to Bolsonaro’s inauguration on January 1st.