No Consistency in Brazil's Foreign PolicyWritten by John Fitzpatrick Tuesday, 20 December 2005Brazil has been hitting the international headlines recently, not for the usual reasons of the Carnaval, destruction of the Amazon or urban violence, but because of its participation in the world trade talks in Hong Kong. Brazil was among the leading developing countries demanding an end to farm subsidies in the European Union and United States.Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, and Trade Minister, Luiz Furlan, were insistent in their defense of Brazil's position. Perhaps their efforts helped bring about the pledge by the EU to phase out subsidies by 2013 although if you believe that will happen then you will believe anything.However, this "tough" approach, as TV Bandeirantes described it, contrasts with Brazil's pussycat approach to trade talks with China, Russia and Argentina. These three countries got ample concessions from the government of President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva but gave nothing in return. This highlights the inconsistency of Brazil's foreign policy.China, for example, was recognized as a "market economy" at the end of 2004. By doing so, Brazil gave up its right, under international trade regulations, to impose anti-dumping barriers on subsidized Chinese goods. For its part, China did nothing to help Brazil in its desire for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and then blocked soybean imports on flimsy technical grounds.Russia got Brazilian support for its application to join the World Trade Organization but also did nothing to help Brazil achieve its UN aims. It was also quick to ban imports of Brazilian beef following the recent isolated incidents of foot-and-mouth disease.Brazil has allowed Argentina to impose protectionist measures against selected Brazilian exports even though these went against the rules governing the Mercosur free trade area. The approach adopted in Hong Kong shows how incompetently Brazil acts in foreign affairs. This should not come as a surprise since it is debatable whether the Lula government even has a foreign policy. Few people complain, since most Brazilians are uninterested in what happens abroad.There are understandable reasons for this popular indifference. Brazil consists of vast regions which could have formed separate countries, as happened in Spanish-speaking Latin America. The differences between the regions are often striking.Brazilians in southern states like Rio Grande do Sul, for example, have more in common with their neighbors in Uruguay and Argentina than their countrymen in Belem. The lifestyle of the people in Acre is more like that of neighboring Bolivia (to which it used to belong) than Rio de Janeiro. Most Brazilians will go through their lives without visiting other regions or even states.Unlike China, which has fought fairly recent wars with neighbors, such as the Soviet Union, India and Vietnam, or India, which has fought China and Pakistan, Brazil has had no serious security problem with its neighbors.This means it does not constantly have to check on what its neighbors are doing, with the exception of Argentina which sees itself as a rival to Brazil. Nor does not have to keep the country alert to alleged threats from its neighbors and