Hagel: Next President Must Get Close to Brazil

Brazil is one of the priorities in American foreign relations, and it is up to the next president—either democrat Barack Obama or the republican John McCain—to tighten the diplomatic ties between the two nations, said American Senator Chuck Hagel, a republican from Nebraska, this Tuesday.

“I cannot tell Brazilians what is best for you, but it does not matter who is elected: Brazil and Latin America will be a fundamental part of the next administration’s foreign policy,” he said. According to the Senator, the difficulty for the United States in maintaining closer relations with Brazil lies in challenges such as the presence of “some leaders in the region with whom we do not agree.”

Hagel did not declare his support for either of the candidates, but his background indicates a closer relationship with Obama.

The Senator was one of the people under consideration for the democratic vice presidential candidature, and, on the eve of ending his career in the Senate, he is being considered for a post in the eventual Obama administration.

When one of the people present referred to John McCain as “your candidate,” Hagel responded in a serious tone that he “had not endorsed” the Senator from Arizona.

New Leadership

A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Hagel defended the importance of relations between Brazil and the United States in the context of newly emerging world leaders and pointed to future Brazilian leadership in the development of alternative sources of energy.

“Brazil deserves credit for being a leader in alternative fuel and we will and need to accompany this leadership,” affirmed Hagel, for whom energy development is one of the paths to returning to economic growth in the United States.

“I believe that relations with our neighbors, partners and friends are more important than ever. Brazil represents clear global leadership,” affirmed the republican. “And the common interests of this alliance are important not only on the American and Brazilian planes, but they will re-shape the global scene.”

Hagel evaluates that the world is currently living through a kind of “new globalization,” shaped by alliances generated by questions of energy, and by which “the fusion of economic and geopolitical power changed the center of gravity of influence in the world.” “The question of energy did this. It created new collaborations and new common interests, forcing new international relations,” he explained further.

And it is in this context, according to the Senator, that Brazil, along with the United States has emerged as a global leader in the fight against the great challenges of the 21st century—terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and, primarily, climate change.

Hagel participated in an event at FAAP (Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation), in São Paulo.