Reflexões sobre a atuação do Brasil na América do Sul no século XXI: uma potência regional?

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine Brazilian acting as a regional power in South America in the 21st century through the analysis of evidences that corroborate (or not) the exercise of this role and leadership in the region. During the administration of President Lula da Silva (2003-2010), although Brazil had faced certain limitations in the performance and was not an uncontested regional power, it showd willingness to assume a position as a strengthening link between regional integration processes. However, Brazilian performance as a regional power had encountered obstacles during President Dilma Rousseff’s (2011-2016) mandate, which had shown less activism in relation to the previous presidency due to changes in domestic and international conditions. Finally, the current scenario is analyzed, in which Brazilian government is led by Michel Temer (2016-2017), whose efforts demonstrate intentions to modify Brazilian foreign policy towards South America in relation to the previous governments, decelerating activism of Brazil in the processes of regional integration. In this sense, it’s inferred that while in Lula's government Brazil had positioned itself as a regional power, at the dawn of this decade, the country's pro-activity in the region was smaller, demonstrating lack of a long-term perspective on regional policy