Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional ISSN: 0034-7329
[email protected] Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais Brasil Gomes Saraiva, Miriam Brazilian foreign policy towards South America during the Lula administration: caught between South America and Mercosur Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, vol. 53, diciembre, 2010, pp. 151-168 Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais Brasília, Brasil Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=35817453009 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Artigo Brazilian foreign policy towards South America during the Lula Administration: caught between South America and Mercosur Política externa brasileira para a América do Sul durante o governo Lula: entre América do Sul e Mercosul MIRIam GOMES SARAIVA* Rev. Bras. Polít. Int. 53 (special edition): 151-168 [2010] Since 1991, Brazil’s foreign policy towards South America has developed along two lines that share some common ground. Brazil’s diplomatic efforts have centred on two movements with regard to its South American neighbours and in the effort to build Brazilian leadership in the region. On the one hand, Brazilian government has developed and consolidated a process of regional integration along the lines of open regionalism: the Common Market of the South, i.e. Mercosur1. Meanwhile, it has also fostered less structured cooperation and integration initiatives in the region.2 The significance of these two movements, the way they have been coordinated and the relative weight given to one or the other have varied from administration to administration as a function of each one’s respective foreign policy strategies, the country’s international standing and the behaviour of its neighbouring States.