Chapter 3 Brazil-Chile Bilateral Relations Since the 1990S

Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/45261 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation. Author: Marcuzzo do Canto Cavalheiro, C. Title: Assessing the Brazilian-Chilean bilateral relations: public diplomacy, nation branding and presidential diplomacy Issue Date: 2017-01-18 Chapter 3 Brazil-Chile Bilateral Relations since the 1990s This chapter explores the ways Brazil and Chile take their relationship beyond traditional diplomatic links. Both countries have indeed developed significant links in terms of political, scientific, energy, multilateral and decentralised cooperation. Brazilian and Chilean links have also been gradually adjusted to strengthen ties with non-official groups, such as public-private partnerships, in which the private sector assumes a key role in bilateral relations. Beyond the democratic regimes of Brazil and Chile in the 1990s, other aspects have also helped strengthen bilateral links. Brazilian President Cardoso (1995-2002) had a longstanding friendship with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos (2000-2006) and this was an important element that strengthened bilateral cooperation. Moreover, in the governments of President Lula (2003-2007) and President Bachelet (2006-2010), important pragmatic policies were set out in terms of trade cooperation and infrastructure projects between Brazil and Chile, such as the Brazil-Chile- Bolivia bioceanic corridor. Since the 1990s, Brazilian-Chilean links have not been restricted to traditional diplomacy and public diplomacy has also been carried out by decentralised actors, such as NGOs, civil society and the private sector, who all play a key role in bilateral affairs. 3.1. Linking the ABC Pact with Brazil-Chile Ties from the 1990s Onwards The origin of previous cooperation initiatives between Brazil and Chile goes back to 1904 and the Friendly Intelligence Policy Treaty - the well-known ABC Pact - in which Brazil sought to foster cooperation between the three main Southern Cone countries of Brazil, Argentina and Chile. However, as a Brazilian foreign policy initiative, the ABC Pact was not supported by the opposition and the latter’s opinion on the subject was reported in the media. Creating a more appreciative diplomatic environment was connected to counterbalancing the United States’ power in the region (Almeida, 1998: 51). The ABC Pact served to maintain peace in South America by 147 developing a relationship of trust between the three actors. Strengthening southern ties provided an effective context in which to agree on a common policy of resistance against the United States. The strategy of Brazil’s foreign policy was that a good relationship with Chile should be maintained to guarantee the geopolitical balance of power within the region (Gardini, 2010: 20). Moreover, the Brazil-Chile partnership was important as a diplomatic mechanism to contain neighbouring Argentina. Brazil-Chile’s stable friendship was demonstrated in the episode when, the rights to exploit mining territories of a company from the United States, Alsop & Co., were transferred from Bolivia to Chile because of the War of the Pacific (1880-1883). The United States sent an ultimatum to force Chile to pay an indemnity of one million dollars in ten days, given that the latter did not recognise the company’s mining rights. The Brazilian Minister of International Relations, Rio Branco, decided to defend the allied country and Brazil even threatened to break diplomatic ties with the United States. To settle the dispute, Chile proposed that Brazil act as arbitrator, but that idea was rejected by the United States. As a result of Brazil’s diplomacy, the United States withdrew their ultimatum and the topic was submitted to the international arbitration of the King of England, Edward VII.1 Thus, the Alsop episode served to strengthen Brazil-Chile links. Although the ABC Pact was not ratified, it became a key element in the analysis of Brazil-Chile links since it encouraged a closer friendship between the two countries. The importance of the ABC Pact was twofold: it contributed to the geopolitical balance among the three main actors of the Southern Cone and provided a strategic perception of Chile as a reliable ally for Brazil in the region. The ABC Pact also had strong support from Argentina and Perón argued in his articles the need to strengthen Brazil- Argentina ties through the pact (Cavlak, 2008: 171). Since the pact played a fundamental role in Brazil-Chile ties and showed that their relationship was characterised by mutual trust, it is mentioned in the second and third chapters. Understanding the pact allows us to connect the countries’ historical backgrounds to the current Brazil-Chile relationship. The issue of a partnership with Chile was a long-standing concern of 1 See Adelar, Heinsfeld. “As relações Brasil-Chile: o pacto ABC de 1915”. ANPUH, Simpósio Nacional de História – Fortaleza, 2009. pp. 6-8. http://anpuh.org/anais/wp- content/uploads/mp/pdf/ANPUH.S25.1436.pdf. Accessed on 12 April 2013. 148 Brazil’s foreign policy targets. Although Brazil’s ambition of a leadership role in South America has gone through a number of phases and at certain times in history seems to be more related to rhetoric rather than substance, the components of fostering regional ties have played an important role since the emergence of its very first foreign policy aims (Bonis, 2008: 12). The ABC idea contributed to maintaining Brazil’s long-term interest in Chile. Concordantly, it created the perception of Chile as an important ally and part of Brazil’s long-term broad geopolitical strategy. Therefore, the role of Chile within Brazil’s geopolitical plans should not be underestimated, given that the former was part of later traditional diplomacy goals. Since the nineteenth century Brazil and Chile have built up a good long- term relationship, with the official Chilean diplomatic presence in Rio de Janeiro illustrating this point. As the current Chilean Ambassador in Brazil, Jaime Gazmuri, argued, “Brazil and Chile share stable diplomacy, they have developed a trusting relationship since the nineteenth century and they have lived through military periods cooperation in ‘Operation Condor’.2 The democratic-period strengthened bilateral links, given that both states shared similar values and exerted an active role in Latin America through initiatives such as the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South America Nations (UNASUR)”.3 Their historical background has strengthened their partnership in the long-run and their stable bilateral relationship has increased their multilateral political ambitions. Therefore, the ABC theory has borne fruit by shaping geopolitical strategy and situating Chile as a significant actor in the regional sphere. Regardless of prior initiatives, Brazil-Chile bilateral relations have long been determined by the absence of strong links, limiting the scope of possibly stronger ties. At the same time it has been argued that the lack of conflicts encouraged further steps forward to improve the bilateral relationship. A spirit of mutual understanding and respect has permeated the relationship between both countries in the long-run. The mutual perception 2 Finished by the early 1980s, Operation Condor involved the cooperation of the intelligence services of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Rocío Montes (2015), “O horror da Operação Condor”, El País, 11th September. http:// brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2015/09/10/internacional/ 1441836066_190161.html. 3 Interview with the Chilean Ambassador, Jaime Gazmuri, on 12 September 2015. 149 that each is a reliable partner has laid a firm foundation for developing further cooperation within the democratic period. In this sense, the period from the 1990s onwards has been described as being at the heart of increased cooperation efforts between Brazil and Chile. 3.1.1 The Brazil-Chile decentralised approach This study considers that a profound transformation of both countries’ military regimes on the road to democracy in the 1990s was a key component of Brazil-Chile bilateral ties. The new democratic order facilitated the development of closer relations between the two countries. Furthermore, the combination of democratic restoration in the 1990s and the strength of formal and informal integration mechanisms laid the groundwork for more cooperational initiatives between Brazil and Chile. In other words, promoting official and non-official actors within the international arena paved the way for understanding Brazil-Chile ties from a public diplomacy perspective. The difficulties of the Brazil-Chile relationship mean that there are no formal specific links between the two states. This means that Brazil’s approach to Chile has been dissolved in the context of Brazilian continental policy. Despite its abstract character, Brazil-Chile interaction is pragmatic and this is an essential component of their bilateral ties. Due to the absence of strict formal links, it is difficult to make a distinction vis-à-vis Brazilian foreign policy towards that of South America as a whole.4 In this sense, dynamic new forums of dialogue like UNASUR, CELAC and the Rio Group played a crucial role in building a new structure for regional and possible bilateral relations. They represented the possibility of constant dialogue and participation, in which strengthening and widening links on an increasing number of issues demanded further cooperation 4 The difficulties of the Brazil-Chile relationship mean that

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