The contradictions of Brazil’s foreign policy

“IN BRAZIL PAST glory is more frequently associated with diplomacy than with military feats,” notes Rubens Ricupero, a former minister, in his monumental history of his country’s dealings with the world. This legacy is above all the achievement of the Baron of Rio Branco, the foreign minister from 1902 to 1912, who through peaceful negotiation settled the country’s borders with all ten of its neighbours (in some cases expanding its territory).

The values Rio Branco espoused—peace, moderation, trust in international law, non-intervention and what would now be called the pursuit of soft power—became integral to Brazil’s idea of itself, Mr Ricupero argues. And Itamaraty, as the foreign ministry is known (from the palace in Rio de Janeiro it formerly occupied), came to be seen as the Rolls-Royce of Brazilian government, its prestige based on meritocracy and knowledge.