Diplmacy

Aide Memoire Professor: Dr. Awalou Ouedraogo Diplomacy Brazil has become an emerging superpower in terms of its economic power as well as its participation in the international community. The consolidation of its strong economy has allowed Brazil to take part in conflict resolution around the world. Brazil intends to spread its own emblem of order and progress throughout the world, and is committed to establish peace and encourage human development. Brazil is the largest country in South America, covering approximately half of the total surface area of the subcontinent which places them in a very strategic and prominent place in the region.
It shares borders with every other South American country except Chile and Ecuador. This has allowed Brazil to create important alliances and enjoy good relations with most of its neighbours. Brazil is also home of the Amazon forest which is considered to be the ‘lungs’ of the planet, as well as an important place where diversity of fauna and flora coexist (Note on the Political and Economic Situation of Brazil, 4). Brazil’s population also plays an important aspect in the international arena; it ranks fifth in the world in terms of its population with over 186 million people.
Slavery was abolished in 1888, which over time a further blurred racial lines; Brazil is a mixture of races and ethnicities, resulting in rich diversity. Approximately 80% of its population is Roman Catholic. Despite the mixing of ethnicities; there is a class system in Brazil. Thus, there is a great disparity in wage differentials–and therefore lifestyle and social aspirations among the different classes (Brazilian Culture, Family, and Its Ethnic-Cultural Variety, 193). On the other hand, Brazil’s current economic situation is at its best.

Today most of the world is consumed in debt and dealing with high levels of unemployment; Brazil instead is trying to see how to manage its economic boom. It was the last country to enter the great recession and the first to leave it. It is positioned to overtake France and Britain as the fifth global economy. According to the International Monetary Fund website, Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America the second largest on the continent, behind the United States, the sixth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the seventh largest in terms of purchasing power parity.
With most of the world’s economies stagnant Brazil’s economy has grown by 7%, three times faster than America. It has the most sophisticated biofuels in the world, 80% of its electricity comes from hydro power. Brazil is also the biggest mining iron producer in the world and the world’s leading exporter of coffee, orange juice, tobacco, soy and beef. Most of these commodities are exported to China which has replaced the US as their leading trade partner (Reportagem da tv Americana). It is not the only commodities that Brazil makes; it also has developed its economic sectors and increases its exports in aircrafts, electronics and automobiles.
Although, Brazil enjoys a modern economy that is very strong and competitive, it still has serious socio-economical problems in terms of poverty within its population. There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Brazil is a social state organized as a unitary republic, decentralized, with autonomous territorial entities, democratic, participatory and pluralistic society based on respect for human dignity, work and solidarity of the people who make up and the prevalence of general interest.
The federal capital is Brasilia, while the most important cities are Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is made up of 26 states; the president is the head of the executive and is selected by direct universal suffrage for a term of fours years. It has the classical division of power which is the executive, legislative, and judicial that is officially established by the constitution (Note on the Political and Economic Situation of Brazil, 6).
The Brazilian government is committed to protecting human rights; their principle human rights concern includes police violence and impunity. Also, the discrimination against indigenous and landless people, human trafficking, torture and working conditions with relative impunity for those involved (Foreign and Common Wealth website). The current president Dilma has made improvements in domestic human rights a priority of her leadership. Brazil’s foreign policy is to be as a key player on the world stage; its efforts for the integration of Latin America have been tremendous.
Since the creation of Mercosur, Brazil has intended to be the driving force in South America consolidating free trade agreements in the region and coordinating negotiations for the emancipation of Latin America. Under both Presidents Lula and Dilma, Brazil has been particularly active in its engagement with other emerging powers, particularly India, South Africa, China and Russia. The combination of Brazil, India and South Africa have established a more formal grouping, called the G3 or IBSA, and co-ordinate activity across various areas.
The three countries have come together in order to exert greater pressure at the WTO negotiations, a move which has upset the United States. Through its role as a leader within Latin America, Brazil has encouraged closer co-operation between the region and the Middle East (Foreign and Common Wealth website). Brazil supports reform of the United Nations, both the Security Council and more widely. Moreover, Brazil has put itself forward as a candidate for a permanent seat in an enlarged Security Council and has the stated support of a significant number of countries.
Thus, in the case of Palestine in which Brazil has made important measures that would help the country to gain its recognition as state in the United Nations. Brazil has consistently spoken in favour of a ceasefire, and against mutual hostility between Israelis and Palestinians. Brazil has specifically related to advancing the path of national independence for the Palestinians and security for the Israelis. We can actually even go back to the Montevideo Rights and Duties of the State, and find how ‘the political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states.
Even before recognition the state has the right to defend its integrity and independence, to provide for its conservation and prosperity, and consequently to organize itself as it sees fit, to legislate upon its interests, administer its services, and to define the jurisdiction and competence of its courts’ (Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties). Article 3 clearly states the position the conference on American states would adopt. Paradoxically, some countries have not obeyed this approach taken by the majority of nations that bind this agreement.
The Brazilian interest is to bring peace to this conflict and achieve concrete progress in building the Palestinian State. On the website of the Ministry of International Affairs, Brazil with the support of some other countries states how the Brazilian Palestinian National Interest Committee continues to promote Brazil as key for Palestinian-Israeli peace, and promote Brazil’s interests in the Middle East by urging its members to maintain contact with Members of Congress, to adopt resolutions to help in restoring the peace rocess and thus resolve the humanitarian situation in order to avoid future conflicts in the region, and to support important initiatives that would lead to the creation of a Palestinian State (Ministerio Das Relacoes Exteriores website). In it, Brazil also states the Mercosur-Palestine Free Trade Agreement signed on 20 December 2011 in Montevideo. The Mercosur-Palestine Free Trade Agreement contains the following chapters: trade in goods; rules of origin; bilateral safeguards; technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures; as well as its agreement to open markets for goods.
The launch trade negotiations with the Palestinians comes less than two weeks after Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay announced the recognition of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders (Nanduti Noticias website). Finally, the resolutions made by the Brazilian Palestinian National Interest Committee made a list of the issues that must be resolved, 1. Israeli Government must cease military raids in the West Bank and Gaza. 2. Dismantling of all settlements in the West Bank. 3. Democratically elected officials are recognized. 4. Dismantling of the wall. 5. Providing Palestinians free unrestricted travel in their municipality. . Strengthening of Palestinian security forces and intelligence. 7. UNSC backing for Brazil to start leading efforts, working together with India, South Africa and the international community, to support Palestinian Government institutions in providing security for its nationals along with securing the borders with the State of Israel. 8. Allowing Palestinians to control their airspace, territorial waters, and land passages between the West Bank and Gaza. 9. Resolving the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement (Ministerio Das Relacoes Exteriores website). References 1- Neves , Pedro. On the Political and Economic Situation of Brazil. ” Directorate-General for External Policies of the Directorate B -Policy Department-. (2007): 397-081. <https://docs. google. com/viewer? a=v&q=cache:jcuqvwT_ZRsJ:www. europarl. europa. eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/nt/692/692067/692067en. pdf economic, political and social situation of brazil&hl=en&gl=ca&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj5pBjjn Vkc0u7wIo1paZ9DdS6Kh4Ws0aaZV_ok__9hpcHWbdOzuRA2zWAHmTYDI32EQLomVU8OhHoSVJ6CEfZHBgXUAJyePf59cAFEEfvreX3PPSzp3s1tRH0cKaF7xDCYiexY&sig=AHIEtbRmo3aDE1xJY_1QBjZQLAIZwR9qUQ>. 2- Torres, Claudio V. , and Maria Auxiliadora Dessen. Brazilian culture, Family and its Ethnic- Cultural Variety. ” Arizona Journal of Hipic Cultural Studies. 12. (2008): 189-202. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. ;lt;http://www. jstor. org/stable/20641909? seq=5;amp;Search=yes;amp;searchText=political,;amp;searchText=social;amp;searchText=economical;amp;searchText=situation;amp;searchText=brasil;amp;list=hide;amp;searchUri=/action/doBasicResults? la=;amp;wc=on;amp;acc=on;amp;gw=jtx;amp;Query=brasil+political%2C+economical+and+social+situation;amp;sbq=brasil+political%2C+economical+and+social+situation;amp;prq=recognition+palestinian+state;amp;si=1;amp;jtxsi=1;amp;jcpsi=1;amp;artsi=1;amp;so=new;amp;Go. =6;amp;Go. y=20;amp;Go=Go;amp;hp=25;amp;prevSearch=;amp;item=6;amp;ttl=234;amp;returnArticleService=showFullText;amp;resultsServiceName=null;gt;. 3- 60 Minutes. 2011. Photograph. CBS, Brazil. Web. ;lt;http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=DMM7OJ_Kj9I;gt;. 4- . “Acordo de Livre Comercio Mercosul-Palestina – Montevideu, 20 de dezembro de 2011. ” Ministerio Das Relacoes Exteriores. Ministerio Do Brasil, 20/12/2011. Web. 19 Jan 2012. ;lt;http://www. itamaraty. gov. br/;gt;. 5- Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States, 1933. PDF document