“Brazil is too important to stay out of global issues”, says Celso Amorim

Brazil’s former external relations minister, Celso Amorim, said
that Brazil is too important and cannot stay out of global issues,
underpinning Brazil’s interim government’s mistake of not continuing what
had been implemented in over a decade and which brought international
recognition to Brazil.

Speaking at the conference about Brazil’s foreign policy, promoted
by Instituto Lula, the Perseu Abramo Foundation, Frente Brasil
Popular, the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (Clacso) and
the GR-RI (a discussion group created by trade unions and academics
to discuss Brazilian foreign relations), Amorim remembered that
former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for whom he worked as
foreign relations and defence minister, saw Brazil as nation that had
much to contribute to world’s fight for social justice.

“President Lula showed that it didn’t make sense for Brazil to
behave itself in a modest fashion. Brazil is not modest. A country
that has the [geographical] dimensions it has not only had to react
more proudly, but it had to be one of the builders of the
international agenda,” he told the more than 700 people who went to
Casa de Portugal on Monday night.

Aligning himself with others who spoke before him such a Luis Dulci (former
minister and director of Instituto Lula) and Pablo Gentili (general
director of Clacso), Amorim criticised the current changes in
Brazil’s foreign policy brought about by the interim government.

Gentili reminded the audience that one of the purpose of Monday’s
debate was to understand and find ways to better organize and
articulate popular movements that are facing the same problems
throughout the continent.

Amorim pointed out that the idea was to diversify Brazilian
foreign relations in which not only the regional ties with Latin
America would be strengthened but also ties with African countries would
be expanded, in many cases naturally.

“Mercosur is not only about creating a free trade zone, it’s
about creating a Latin American identity,” he said.

In relation to Africa Amorim reminded the audience that “for
every African problem there is a Brazilian solution”, in a way of
showing how solidarity works in the diplomatic world.

“The truth is that Brazil became very respected all over the
world,” he said. “The propensity of Lula towards dialogue only
improved our relations with the rest of the word and the conscience
of wanting a fairer country is what made Lula develop such an active
and proud foreign policy”.

Amorim concluded his speech by stressing justice and solidarity
between nations and the Brazil must be present in the top
international issues “…always with a sense of justice and
solidarity. If foreign policy is not active nor proud, then it is not
a foreign policy”.