Economy Fuels Brazil's Ambitions Beyond South America

O BRASIL no Wall Street Journal

• FEBRUARY 6, 2009, 10:04 P.M. ET

By JOHN LYONS

SÃO PAULO, Brazil -- In the years since terrorist attacks refocused U.S. foreign policy on the Middle East, Brazil and Venezuela vied to replace the U.S. as chief broker of Latin American affairs. Today's plunging oil prices may determine a winner: Brazil.

Venezuela relies on its oil wealth to push an anti-U.S. agenda in the region through foreign-aid programs that include selling cut-rate oil to several nations and lending to Argentina and others at below-market rates. The programs are being cut back this year as oil revenue plummets and economic growth grinds to a near halt.

While Brazil's commodity-rich economy -- the world's 10th largest -- will be hit by the downturn, it is expected to fare better than most, growing slightly even as the U.S., Europe and Japan contract, economists forecast.

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Reuters

President da Silva, left, with Venezuela's Chávez, in January.

Unlike the checkbook diplomacy practiced by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the sources of Brazil's influence are more diversified and less vulnerable to economic woes.

Brazil's diplomatic edge is a welcome development for U.S. policymakers. During the Bush years, Washington viewed Brazil as an important counterweight to Venezuelan influence, and encouraged the South American giant's increased assertiveness.

Under President Barack Obama, that bilateral relationship may develop as the U.S. seeks diplomatic alliances to tackle hemispheric issues such as energy and drug trafficking. Latin America provides the U.S. with a third of its oil -- and is the source of most of its illegal immigrants.

"Cooperation with Brazil is going to be crucial for any progress on the Hemispheric agenda," says Michael Shifter, vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank in Washington.

Brazil, the world's biggest exporter of iron ore, beef, chicken, sugar and coffee, wants better access to the U.S. market for its goods. In return, Brazil and its charismatic President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could help the U.S. repair its image in the region, which declined sharply under the Bush administration.

Brazil, which recently discovered major offshore oil fields, could also become an energy ally as oil output drops in Mexico and Venezuela. Brazilian output has jumped 46% to 1.9 million barrels per day this year -- and could surge again as new discoveries are brought online.

Mismanagement and declining investment have cut Venezuelan output by 700,000 barrels a day to an estimated 2.35 million over the past decade.

President Obama has asked a proponent of U.S.-Brazil ties during the Bush years, Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Thomas Shannon, to remain in his post. In January, Mr. Obama telephoned Mr. da Silva, and pledged to advance trade talks. The two leaders plan to meet in Washington in March.

To be sure, Brazil is no unconditional ally. Mr. da Silva regularly visits Caracas and Brazilian firms, such as construction giant Odebrecht, do business in Venezuela. The two leaders share the belief that the U.S. shouldn't set the tone for regional affairs.

As Brazil's economic interests expand beyond its borders, the country looks to be shifting toward U.S.-friendly positions, such as promoting access to markets and regional stability. At a recent regional summit, Brazil succeeded in getting harsh anti-U.S. rhetoric stripped from the final resolution -- a clear win over Venezuela.

As recently as the 1990s, Brazil's foreign policy amounted to begging for financial assistance as it wobbled from one crisis to another. Hard-won economic stability and an export-driven expansion changed that.

Brazil's prominence in Latin America grew as the U.S. waged its war on terror. Brazilians long have held that their country's sprawling size and 180 million population warrant it international prominence. Brazil wants a United Nations Security Council seat, for example, and building regional preeminence is one way to lobby for it.

—Peter Millard in Mexico City contributed to this article.

Write to John Lyons at john.lyons@wsj.com

The Saudi Arabia of Latin America

November 17, 2008, 4:12 pm

By The New York Times

Justin Dargin of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, flagged an article in the Financial Times, noting:

Brazil, the silent giant of South America, known more for its bright future, than sharp words-as compared with its erstwhile friendly regional rival, Venezuela, is positioning itself to join the ranks of the major oil producers. Recently, the largest discovery of oil in the Western Hemisphere for a generation, was discovered 180 miles of its coast. This, along with other large-scale, back-to-back, oil finds, has caused Brazil to reinvent itself from being a net oil importer, to inquiring about OPEC membership criteria. Brazil’s new oil find is some of the most challenging oil to produce, requiring advanced technology and specialized skills, something that the national oil company, Petroleo Brazileiro (Petrobras), has in abundance. But Brazil is a shining anomaly in a region that has other mature oil producers losing their gloss. Mexico’s national oil company, PEMEX, is losing the production battle, while Mexico is facing going from a net oil exporter- approximately 1.6 million barrels per day, to an importer within the next decade. Venezuela’s national oil company, PDVSA, under the stewardship of President Hugo Chavez, is slipping. It went from 3.1 million barrels per day in 1999, to 2.6 million barrels in 2007. The production drop is at least partly attributed to the drag of the social welfare spending which Chavez champions, instead of oil field reinvestment. Petrobras, however, has invested heavily in its deep water drilling expertise and technological skills, which has thus, so far, enabled it to navigate past the ills afflicting the other Latin American national oil companies. If Brazil exercises the mature leadership that has garnered it accolades from the international community since the end of its brutal military dictatorship in 1985, it will be an example to all of South America. It will illustrate that the poor governance that results from the “oil curse,” is not necessarily preordained.

CHEGA DE SAUDADE

Brasil é 8º país em ranking de transparência de gasto público

FOLHA DE SÃO PAULO, CADERNO BRASIL
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/brasil/fc0302200914.htm


CLÓVIS ROSSI
COLUNISTA DA FOLHA, EM PARIS

O Brasil é o oitavo colocado no ranking de transparência de informações sobre o gasto público elaborado pela IBP (sigla em inglês para Parceria Internacional sobre Orçamento), que lista 85 países.
Deles, quase 50% "proporcionam uma informação tão escassa ao público que pode esconder gastos pouco populares, desperdício ou corrupção".
No caso do Brasil, sua boa classificação demonstra que "o governo repassa informações consideráveis à população sobre o Orçamento do governo federal e sobre as atividades financeiras no decorrer do ano", diz o documento, elaborado por Luciano Cerqueira, do Ibase (Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Econômicas e Sociais).
A boa colocação do país no ranking não impede constatações críticas, como a de que "permanece limitado o acesso à informação orçamentária altamente detalhada".
Os sete primeiros colocados são todos países desenvolvidos, com a única exceção da África do Sul, que fica em segundo lugar. O primeiro é do Reino Unido e, após África do Sul, vêm França, Nova Zelândia, Estados Unidos, Noruega e Suécia.
Os países mais fechados são ou regimes ditatoriais ou muito pobres, como Arábia Saudita, Argélia, Sudão, Guiné Equatorial e São Tomé e Príncipe.
A IBP foi formada em 1997. Seu endereço eletrônico é

www.openbudgetindex.org.

Bobby Darin Bridge over Troubled Water

Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto, May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was one of the most popular[citation needed] American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Darin performed widely in a range of music genres, including pop, jazz, folk and country. Allegedly[who?] his health, unknown to the public, was dangerously fragile and strongly motivated him to succeed within the limited lifetime he feared.[citation needed]

He was also an actor, singer/songwriter and music business entrepreneur. His wish for a legacy was "to be remembered as a human being and as a great performer."[1] Among his many other contributions, he became a goodwill ambassador for the American Heart Association.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Darin