Brazil’s new President Jair Bolsonaro told SBT TV in an interview taped Thursday that he would be open to the possibility of the United States opening a military base on his country’s soil, departing from decades of Brazilian foreign policy, according to Reuters.
Bolsonaro’s announcement came two days after he took power on Tuesday, nothing that Russia’s support of neighboring Venezuela and its President Nicolas Maduro’s “dictatorship” had significantly escalated tensions in the region. When asked if he would consider a US military presence in Brazil, Bolsonaro responded: “Depending on what happens in the world, who knows if we would not need to discuss that question in the future.”
He also stressed that Brazil would like to have “supremacy here in South America.”
The far-right leader is upending foreign policy dating back over a decade, which saw the leftist Workers Party emphasizing South-South relations and sometimes tussling on the international stage with the United States.
Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old former Army captain and admirer of both Brazil’s 1964 to 1985 military dictatorship and U.S. President Donald Trump, has quickly deepened ties with the Unites States and Israel.
Bolsonaro’s national security adviser, retired Army General Augusto Heleno, confirmed earlier on Thursday that the president wants to move Brazil’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, but that logistical considerations were standing in the way. –Reuters
The Brazilian agriculture sector – still recovering from a massive country-wide truck drivers’ strike, has lobbied against moving Brazil’s embassy from Tel Aviv – citing angry Arab nations that buy billions of dollars worth of Brazilian halal meat which is “permissible” to eat under Islam.
That said, Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit Brazil this week, where he attended Bolsonaro’s inauguration. Following a private meeting between the two leaders, Netanyahu said that Bolsonaro told him that the embassy’s relocation was a matter of “when, not if.”
On Thursday Heleno said “there is a clear desire that this happens, but there has been no decision on a date.”
He said he did not think exports would be threatened, arguing that Brazilian diplomats would work with Middle Eastern trading partners to ease concerns.
Bolsonaro and some state governors in Brazil are looking to purchase drones and lean on the United States and Israel for other technology and know-how as they seek to dismantle powerful and heavily armed drug cartels. –Reuters
Bolsonaro also met with World Trade Organization head, Roberto Azvedo, who noted that the far-right Brazilian president’s opposition to globalism were shared by many other countries, and that the trade body was making changes. To that end, Brazil’s new Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo on Wednesday said that the country would fight for change at multilateral institutions such as the WTO under his watch.
Bolsonaro’s Chief of Staff, meanwhile, said that the new administration was committed to an ambitious pension overhaul following the first full meeting of the new administration’s cabinet – and that a privatization program was still being considered.
By early next week each minister should announce their top priority, Lorenzoni said.
Bolsonaro’s economic team has promised to liberalize Brazil’s hidebound economy, rid the country of “socialism,” and enact conservative social measures in areas like education.
On Wednesday, Bolsonaro unveiled plans to step up privatizations, toughen prison sentencing guidelines and hand control over indigenous land claims to the powerful Agriculture Ministry. Brazilian markets soared on promises to shrink government.
Bolsonaro’s administration is made up of free market economists, statist former military generals, and religious ideologues, and it remains to be seen just how committed he is to liberalizing the economy. –Reuters
On Thursday morning Bolsonaro tweeted that privatizing 12 Brazilian airports and four ports should bring in an initial investment of $1.85 billion.
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