Brazilian diplomats 'disgusted' as Bolsonaro pulverizes foreign policy
Former ambassadors say far-right leader has cuddled up to rightwing nationalists, irked China, infuriated Middle Eastern partners, and jettisoned its position as climate crisis leader
Tom Phillips in São Paulo
Tue 25 Jun 2019 04.00 EDT Last modified on Tue 25 Jun 2019 04.01 EDT
It has long been considered one of the jewels of Latin American statecraft; a shrewd, dependable and highly trained foreign service that helped make Brazil a global climate leader and soft power heavyweight.
But six months into the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, even veteran diplomats struggle to mask their horror at the wrecking ball being taken to the country’s nearly two century-old foreign office, known as Itamaraty after the Rio palace where it was once housed.
“I feel disgusted,” said Rubens Ricupero, Brazil’s former ambassador to the United States and one of the most outspoken critics of the Bolsonarian foreign policy revolution.
Since the far-right leader took office in January, his foreign policy team has set about pulverizing decades of diplomatic tradition: cuddling up to rightwing nationalists including Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán; irking China, and jettisoning its position as a climate crisis leader; infuriating longtime Middle Eastern partners by embracing Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel and threatening to move Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem.
All this under a Bible-bashing pro-Trump foreign minister who claims global heating is a Marxist conspiracy and Nazism is a movement of the left.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/25/brazilian-diplomats-disgusted-bolsonaro-pulverizes-foreign-policy
