Brazil Essay

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Recently, there has been a concerted effort from the Brazilian government to project their country as a “serious” power on the international stage. After many years of what could be deem as a failure of realized potential, Brazil is finally beginning to understand its worth as a major contributor to world affairs. Given its strategic location as the second most important country on in the Western hemisphere, and arguably the most important country on the Southern hemisphere, Brazil is poised to become an international powerhouse, the like of which South America has never seen. To fully utilize the opportunities being presented to Brazil in the coming years it is imperative that the Dilma regime bolster its reputation through increased efforts of international cooperation with emerging world markets.
The arrival of the World Cup and Olympics will serve as a catalyst for Brazil to gain the recognition it desires. As enjoyable and lucrative as those years of international exposure have the potential to be, they will ultimately be short lived and fleeting in long term impact, unless the Brazilian government uses the platform afforded to it to set up long term plans to establish the “Brazilian Brand” in foreign markets. No where is this opportunity more readily available to the Brazilian government and private sector than the African continent. Long standing associations between the population of Brazil and the western coast of Africa, through the slave trade and natural migration, form an organic connection between the two entities that isn’t found in any other region of the world. With a majority Afro-decendant population and the largest concentration of individuals of African decent outside of Nigeria, Brazil is uniquely situa...

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...tions of good intent, ended up harming the continent’s prospects of development in ways that can not be easily reversed. In many aspects, Brazil has a great opportunity to show that its “South-South” approach is more sustainable for long term growth and integration.
At the same time, Brazil has the chance to introduce new models in the development arena, which remains dominated by OECD countries. Given that only a decade ago Brazil was a recipient of aid and had not yet begun to provide aid to other countries in a systematic fashion, its progress has been remarkable. This shift in power dynamics has changed the way Brazil is perceived abroad and the way the country sees itself. Brazil’s aid strategy thus underscores, more than anything, Brazil’s ambition to play a more important role in international affairs and project global influence, but particularly in Africa.

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