Obama Government Tastes of Disappointment, Says Lula’s Foreign Policy Adviser

The foreign policy adviser to President Lula, Marco Aurélio Garcia, has deemed the results of recent policies by Barack Obama to be frustrating with regard to Latin America, the economic liberalization negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the propositions to combat climate change.

According to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s adviser, there already exist “symptoms and stances” that point to a taste of disappointment in Brazil, as a result of decisions made by the White House.

“We understand that President Obama is facing a complex situation with a difficult internal agenda, but the truth is the following: It is provoking certain frustrations. I would not say it is an obligation. President Lula continues to have hope that we may be able to have a good relationship with the United States, but as of yet there is a certain taste of disappointment, which we hope will be reversed. In conversations with high-ranking American officials, this is the sentiment that we have expressed,” said Garcia, after participating in a dinner at the Itamaraty Palace.

“We hope there is a perception on the part of the American government that the fact that Latin America does not set off bombs, that we do not have large-scale attacks, nor grand crises, that this should mean that they are absent and do not have more consistent policies directed toward us,” critiqued Lula’s adviser.

According to Garcia, Obama has not demonstrated interest in getting the U.S. to collaborate in negotiations about liberalizing trade in global terms, but has supported the execution of elections in Honduras, even though the country has experienced intense times of pressure and violence. The ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, has been in hiding at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa since September 21.

“We see with worry some symptoms and stances [on issues] from the U.S. The Doha Round of negotiations on trade liberalization is paralyzed, and even President Obama, in a letter sent at the end of this weekend to President Lula, did not allude to the possibility of this evolving. In relation to Honduras, the lack of support is clear, not only in relation to Brazil, but also in relation to the majority of Latin American countries (the U.S. is in favor of presidential elections). With regard to the convention on climate change, the U.S. is ceding practically nothing. Only one item which Brazil is proposing corresponds with all that the U.S. has proposed, as of yet,” confirms Garcia.

“If a discrepancy or a great misunderstanding occurs, the U.S. will begin to look at Latin America, and is going to come to the conclusion that it has taken notice too late. We hope that this does not happen, because Brazil maintained an excellent relationship with the U.S. throughout the Bush administration’s time; there are more reasons to expect an even better relationship with the Obama administration,” says Garcia.