Rise and Fall of Triumphalism in Brazilian Foreign Policy: The International Strategy of the Workers Party’s Governments (2003–2016)

Abstract

International analysts who follow Brazil’s political, economic, and social life suggest the country’s trajectory throughout the Workers Party governments could be told through the succession of magazine covers on the Latin American version of The Economist. The first of such editions, from November 2009, printed the iconic image of Christ the Redeemer taking off (“Brazil takes off”), in sync with the optimism expressed on the evaluations at the end of Lula da Silva’s two terms (2003–2010). The second one, from September 2013 (“Has Brazil blown it?”), prints the Christ, with its turbines from the previous edition malfunctioning, heading for a fatal crash at Guanabara Bay. This cover story translated the general perception that Dilma Rousseff, reaching the end of her first term, had apparently failed to maintain the management model, the social dialogue, and the foreign policy bequeathed by her predecessor. The third edition, from April 2016 (“The betrayal of Brazil”), printed Christ the Redeemer holding a sign pleading for help, and the main story presented an assessment of the political and institutional crisis that divided the country and would lead to Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment some months later (The Economist 2009, 2013, 2016).