President Jair Bolsonaro said he will not attend the inauguration of the president-elect in Chile., Gabriel Boric. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for the day 11/03 and would easily allow Bolsonaro to go, honoring the Chilean government. The reason for this refusal lies in Boric's political position, which is left.
It is not the first time that Bolsonaro has refused to go to a presidential inauguration in a Latin American country.. In 2019 Bolsonaro did not attend the inauguration of Argentine Alberto Fernández (note that our 17 In previous years, Brazilian presidents attended the inauguration, given the importance of the country for Brazilian international relations). In 2020 Bolsonaro also did not attend the inauguration of Bolivian Luis Arce, not even sending a representative other than the Brazilian Ambassador to Bolivia (something that is protocol). Already in 2021 It was Bolsonaro's turn not to go to the inauguration of Peruvian Pedro Castillo. What all these presidents have in common is that they are left-wing and have defeated conservative or right-wing candidates.. At the same time, Bolsonaro honored the inauguration of the Ecuadorian Guilherme Lasso, last year. Lasso, in its turn, was a conservative candidate and supported by Peru's traditional right.
This type of behavior shows the smallness of the Brazilian presidency in the face of international issues. By linking a president's partisan political stance to public displays of appreciation for the president of another country, Bolsonaro shows that his ideological beliefs are more relevant than the relationships we have with other countries.
It is necessary that Brazilian foreign policy, especially the one conducted by the presidency of the Republic, back to being based on relations between States and not on personal relations. Although it is legitimate to defend agendas (to the right, center or left) inside the country, when it comes to bilateral relations, it is important to understand that we are talking about something that goes beyond the ideologies of the rulers. Maintaining good relations with other countries (especially with our neighbors in Latin America) is something that interests Brazil in the long term. We are talking about potential collaborations in the economic areas, security and techniques. From the moment in which relations are ideologized, that potential is threatened.
It is important to remember that this is valid not only for ideological issues, but others that are linked to government systems. It doesn't matter if the government is authoritarian, theocratic, democratic, monarchical, bicameral… The relationship of the Brazilian State must always remember that it occurs with another State. Insisting on judgments based on one's own worldview and limiting bilateral relations is imposing a loss on Brazil that will take many years to recover..
