In the 1950s, the American cartoonist (1909-1979) introduced a new character in the strips he published in several newspapers: the Bald Eagle. The bird compelled anyone who looked into its big innocent eyes to compulsively tell the truth, revealing the worst intentions. Magnates and politicians were thus led to sincericide, recognizing their machinations and deceit.
Even though he is in his septuagenarian age, Capp’s eagle may have flown last Saturday to Mar-a-Lago, Florida, when President Donald Trump explained to journalists the reasons for the military operation carried out on his wife and his wife and imprisoning them in New York. It was not about defending the , destroyed by the Chavista dictator, nor about preserving the fundamental rights of his persecuted and imprisoned opponents. With uninhibited crudeness and typical arrogance, the president explained that, after all, the objectives were to defend and affirm the primacy of the United States in the Western Hemisphere.
It was a practical demonstration of the principles outlined in the new United States National Defense Strategy, recently announced by the White House. It is not uncommon for those who see in it the exhumation of , proclaimed in the 19th century, and reaffirmed in the vision of a world divided into spheres of influence, guaranteed by force rather than by Law.
It is hasty to say that we returned to a period before the dense fabric of norms and organizations that gave life to the liberal international order that emerged from the rubble of the two world wars of the last century, especially the second. Institutions lay down roots nourished by routines and interests; they give life to organizations that not even the will of a powerful nation can liquidate overnight.
In any case, it seems clear that the American strategy poses unprecedented challenges for countries like Brazil, which, although not powers, count at the regional level.
Faced with American pretensions in the West, political scientist Feliciano de Sá Guimarães, professor at USP and editor of Cebri-Revista, sees three possibilities: openly confront the dominant power – as Maduro did –, running the risk of getting retaliated against; submit to it completely, thus condemning oneself to irrelevance; or embark on the unknown path of an arrangement in which a certain autonomy of action is combined with negotiated collaboration with those who want to use brute force to rule the region.
The calm response to the Trumpist tariff and, now, the official note, contained and firm, of repudiation of , replicated in , indicate that the country is exploring that third possibility. It is guided by the best tradition of foreign policy, based on pragmatic realism and the professionalism of its diplomacy. But, to protect the country from a powerful and brutal neighbor, it will need a clearer strategic vision, which takes into account the power resources actually available, reviews national defense policy and calibrates opportunities for concerted action.
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