Declaration draws attention because it places the country in the same group as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua during a hearing in the US Congress
Marco Rubio placed Brazil in the group of countries that are not part of Washington’s current bloc of strategic allies in the Western Hemispherealongside Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. The speech took place this Tuesday (2), during a hearing in the American Congress.
To the defend that Latin America is currently experiencing a moment of rapprochement with the United States, Rubio stated that the region is “full of allies” and governments friendly to American interests. Then, however, he made a list of exceptions – and included Brazil among them.
“With the exception of Nicaragua, with the exception of Cuba, obviously with the exception of Venezuela (…), and of course, of Brazil, even though they are in the middle of an electoral cycle (…) by and large it is now a region full of US allies, US-friendly leaders and a pro-America direction.”
The declaration draws attention because it places Brazil in the same relationship as countries frequently criticized by Washington for their political distance from the United States. Although Rubio cited the current Brazilian electoral cycle as a contextual factor, the message conveyed was clear: the Brazilian government is not seen today by the main American diplomatic authority as part of the group of countries aligned with US strategic interests in the region.
Direct message to Brasilia
A speech represents one of the toughest positions already made by a high-ranking member of the American government in relation to Brazil since the beginning of the current Brazilian administration.
By praising the majority of Latin American governments and nominally separating Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from this group, Rubio signaled that Washington sees Brasília as further away from its regional agenda than its main continental partners.
The secretary also stated that the United States need to recover space in Latin America after two decades of “negligence”, period that, according to him, allowed the advancement of Chinese influence on the continent. In Rubio’s view, strengthening governments aligned with the US is a fundamental part of this strategy.
Escalation of friction
The declaration comes amid a sequence of episodes that have increased tension between Washington and Brasília.
In recent days, Rubio had already hardened his speech against Brazil when defend measures related to combating transnational organized crime and by expanding criticism of the conduct of issues considered strategic by the United States.
Now, by mentioning Brazil alongside regimes historically identified by the US as problematic in the region, the secretary raises the tone of the diplomatic clash and publicly exposes the White House’s discomfort with the direction of the bilateral relationship.
Political sign in pre-election year
Another section that caught attention was the explicit reference to the Brazilian electoral process.
By stating that Brazil is “in the middle of an electoral cycle”, Rubio indicated that Washington follows the Brazilian political scene closely and considers that the outcome of the elections could influence the future of the relationship between the two countries.
In practice, the statement was interpreted by observers in Washington as a rare political message: the United States today sees Brazil outside the group of governments considered fully aligned with the American strategy for the Western Hemisphere.
“It’s a region full of allies of the United States,” Rubio said. Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua were left out of this list. Almost simultaneously, Rubio was a target of President Lulaat an event in Catalão (GO), inaugurating the new headquarters of the Instituto Federal Goiano (IF Goiano).
Lula used a very harsh tone, calling Rubio “anti-Latin America” and Cuba’s “mortal enemy” and other countries in the region. He also repeated that he had already complained about this directly to Trump.
“He (Rubio) is anti-Latin Americahe is the mortal enemy of Cuba, he is the mortal enemy of several Latin American countries. I already told Trump that he doesn’t like Brazil. He wasn’t at the meeting I had with Trump.”
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
