More symbolism than substance as Rousseff travels to US
“From now on, I hope that next time President Obama wants to know what is going on in Brazil, he will call me directly.” President Dilma Rousseff’s answer to the inevitable question about US-Brazil relations in the wake of spying revelations raised a smile from the US president. Almost two years have passed since Rousseff cancelled a trip to Washington following reports that the US had spied on her personal emails. But whereas in 2013, Rousseff could afford such a gesture, her position is much weaker now. From the US perspective, the relationship with Brazil is far from essential, though some of the praise lavished on Rousseff and her country suggest that Washington wants to ensure Brazil does not wander too far into China’s sphere of influence. Though the two presidents inked a number of agreements, most significantly on climate change, the real value of the visit was that it happened at all.
President Barack Obama and his Brazilian peer Rousseff met at a moment when the two presidents are on very different trajectories. Fresh from important victories at the US Supreme Court on healthcare and gay marriage, Obama proved a magnanimous host, describing Brazil as an “indispensable partner”. Rousseff whose approval levels are currently of around 10%, was grateful for a momentary distraction from her domestic woes. Accompanied by a phalanx of high-profile members of her cabinet, including Joaquim Levy, the finance minister, as well as the ministers for foreign trade and industry, education, planning and science, technology and innovation, Rousseff also used the visit to court US investors for her ambitious infrastructure programme.