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Foreign Policy Decision Making
Most foreign policy strategies and decisions originate within Itamaraty.
A senior diplomat always occupies the position of foreign affairs
adviser within the president's office, and diplomats occupy similar
liaison positions in key ministries. Since the 1980s, Itamaraty,
in response to the growing complexity of foreign policy issues,
has established new divisions dealing with export promotion, environmental
affairs, science and technology, and human rights. Itamaraty also
established the International Relations Research Institute (Instituto
das Pesquisas das Relações Internacionais--IPRI) as
part of the Alexandre Gusmão Foundation, which functions
as a think tank and conference center and publishes foreign policy
studies.
The Senate and Chamber of Deputies each have foreign affairs standing
committees. Under the 1988 constitution, the Senate expanded its
treaty approval prerogative to include all international financial
agreements, such as negotiations with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF--see Glossary) and international banks, which in the past
had been the exclusive prerogative of the executive branch (see
The Military in the Amazon, ch. 5). The Congress also has involved
itself in major government contracts with foreign companies, such
as the contract with Raytheon for an Amazon surveillance system.
The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (Agência Brasileira de Cooperacão--ABC),
a foreign aid agency formally established in the late 1980s, coordinates
all international technical cooperation and assistance received
by Brazil from foreign donors (often, but not always, within the
context of bilateral agreements). For example, in the absence of
a United
States-Brazil bilateral agreement, United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) programs in Brazil are not coordinated
through the ABC. The ABC also coordinates Brazilian international
technical cooperation and assistance directed to other countries,
mostly through South-South relationships conducted by Brazilian
government agencies, universities, and NGOs.
At times other agencies may take the lead in foreign policy decision
making. For example, in June 1995 the economic sector, led by the
Ministry of Planning, made the initial decision to impose quotas
on imported automobiles. This decision provoked a crisis within
the Common Market of the South (Mercado Comum do Sul--Mercosul;
see Glossary)--because Argentine automobile exports to Brazil would
have been affected. Itamaraty intervened, and a solution was negotiated
excepting Mercosul from the rigors of the measure.
The military had the final say on foreign policy during the 1964-85
period, when foreign policy was decided frequently within the National
Security Council (Conselho de Segurança Nacional--CSN). Since
then the military occasionally has exercised some influence. When
the United Nations (UN) requested Brazilian troops for a peacekeeping
force in Namibia during the delicate, pre-election phase of transition
in 1991, Itamaraty was favorable, but the army vetoed the initiative.
The reverse occurred in 1995. After a successful peacekeeping mission
in Mozambique in 1993-94, the army, in search of new missions, approved
sending a battalion to the peacekeeping operation in Angola. However,
for reasons of economic austerity the ministries of Planning and
Finance delayed the appropriation until 1996.
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Data as of April 1997
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