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Brazil and The Middle East
The Middle East
Immigrants
from the Middle East began arriving in Brazil in large numbers in
the twentieth century, especially following World War I. These immigrants
spread throughout Brazil but can be found mostly in the Southeast
region, where many are merchants.
Brazil's economic relations with the Middle East were accelerated
by the 1973 petroleum crisis. Brazil tried to maintain a moderate
stance vis-à-vis the Arab-Israeli conflict and supported
all UN peace initiatives. In late 1973, Brazil established embassies
in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and legations in Libya and Kuwait, and
it signed cooperation agreements with Egypt, Israel, and Iraq.
However, in 1975, because of the deepening petroleum crisis and
in search of petrodollar investments, Brazil tilted its foreign
policy in favor of the Arab (Palestinian) cause in three crucial
votes in the UN. Brazil's military government upgraded its representation
in Iraq by appointing a succession of four-star generals as ambassadors
to Baghdad. When the Iran-Iraq War broke out in 1979, nearly 35
percent of Brazil's oil imports
were coming from Iraq. In 1981 it was reported that Brazil had
sold low-grade uranium ore or yellow cake (see Glossary) to Iraq.
The Iraq-Kuwait conflict, which resulted in Operation Desert Storm
in early 1991, placed Brazil in a very delicate position. United
States congressional subcommittees accused Brazil of exporting
technology and expertise to Iraq to develop a missile based on the
Piranha missile (MAA-1). Retired Air
Force Brigadier Hugo Oliveira Piva had taken a private group
of Brazilian technicians to Baghdad to complete this project; under
pressure, the Collor
government ordered the group's return to Brazil.
At the time of Desert Storm, a Brazilian construction company,
Mendes Júnior, had several hundred workers and technicians,
as well as several million dollars
worth of equipment, in southern Iraq working on railroad and irrigation
projects. Thus, Brazil, unlike Argentina, did not participate in
the Allied operation. The Brazilian government had to dispatch its
key negotiator, Ambassador Paulo de Tarso Flecha de Lima, from his
post in London to negotiate the release of the Mendes Júnior
personnel from Iraq and the disposition of the equipment. Brazil
had won a US$5 billion price and performance competition to supply
its Osório tank to Saudi Arabia in 1990, but the Kuwait conflict
changed the decision in favor of the United States Abrams tank.
Data as of April 1997
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