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Weekly Report - 2 July 2015 (WR-15-26)

More symbolism than substance as Rousseff travels to US

“From now on, I hope that next time President Obama wants to know what is going on in Brazil, he will call me directly.” President Dilma Rousseff’s answer to the inevitable question about US-Brazil relations in the wake of spying revelations raised a smile from the US president. Almost two years have passed since Rousseff cancelled a trip to Washington following reports that the US had spied on her personal emails. But whereas in 2013, Rousseff could afford such a gesture, her position is much weaker now. From the US perspective, the relationship with Brazil is far from essential, though some of the praise lavished on Rousseff and her country suggest that Washington wants to ensure Brazil does not wander too far into China’s sphere of influence. Though the two presidents inked a number of agreements, most significantly on climate change, the real value of the visit was that it happened at all.

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