Serra's little paper ball

Respect for the suffering of others is part of civilized consensus. Even though the angry mob that took to the streets, spewing indignation and demanding the removal of President Dilma Rousseff, did not follow this rule, and social media turned into playgrounds for fanatics ranting about Lula's grief, we should sympathize with José Serra's supposed indisposition, who, according to the informed columns of the commercial press, has grown tired of being Foreign Minister.

Lately, Serra's desolate expression has evoked the atmosphere of the end of an election campaign with the prospect of defeat. It's impossible not to associate it with the incident of the paper ball thrown at his forehead during a walk in Campo Grande, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, in the second round of the 2010 presidential elections. After receiving instructions via cell phone, he simulated being hit by a stone and tried to exaggerate the incident to portray himself as the victim of an attack. Even a neurologist intervened to attest to the severity of the injury. And, in the end, experts delivered their verdict: it was just a paper ball! The mountain had given birth to a mouse.

That's right, remember the warning parents give their children to stop lying or asking for help when they don't need it? If they lie even once, they will lose credibility and may not receive help in times of trouble.

That's the case with José Serra. He might even be ill, poor thing. We shouldn't joke about that. Besides being inhumane, nothing is gained from that attitude. But, that leaves a nagging feeling, or rather, a seed of doubt, oh, that's unavoidable.

José Serra is the typical actor in this "thing" they usually call a government. A government only in fact, because, besides its leader not having been elected to be president, he acts in disagreement with the program of the winning ticket he was part of and, in a sadistic affront to the voters, does everything that might disgust them.

José Serra is a yes-man to Uncle Sam and can't get even a little bit of attention from Trump's team. He tried so hard to get their attention (after betting everything on the opposing candidate, Hillary Clinton) that he gave away a piece of national territory for free: the Alcântara space launch base, where the Americans will have an alternative to Guantanamo, should they want to detain alleged terrorists outside American soil. In times of corruption in public institutions, perhaps he imagined that Alcântara would function as a kind of KY Jelly, to make things easier…

In nine months at the helm of the State Secretariat, his policy toward Latin America was a disaster. Not a stone was left unturned in Brazil's regional leadership. The head of Brazilian diplomacy preferred to behave like a "rowdy," a quarrelsome boy, antagonizing neighbors because of their political choices.

By dismantling strategic alliances so painstakingly built during thirteen years of democratic governments, it has made Brazil a dwarf in global politics. It had no plans for the BRICS and silenced a promising project for a sustainable and counter-hegemonic alliance.

He knew nothing about foreign trade, the new thematic area of ​​his portfolio. In search of markets to sell its wheat, Russia is offering less than half the price practiced by the Americans, our largest supplier. In return, it is willing to import huge lots of Brazilian meat. Serra's Ministry of Foreign Affairs left the Russian authorities high and dry. This week, they closed a deal with Mexico.

In conflict-ridden regions like the Middle East, Brazil, with its "active and assertive foreign policy" (Celso Amorim), now plays the role of a disinterested spectator, despite boasting the largest Arab diaspora in the world. Several countries in the region are willing to increase their trade volume with Brazil. They urgently need double taxation agreements to facilitate the flow of capital. But Serra's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hasn't taken a single step.

Serra chose to speak harshly to his traditional friends. He lost the assets he had gained in previous years without adding anything new. It's a sad outcome. This time, the farce of the paper ball hides José Serra's profound incompetence and ineffectiveness, disguised as apathy. In this scenario, it's good that he's leaving. It would be good if he took "the thing" with him! Brazil only stands to gain, or rather, to lose less than it has already lost.

On Marcelo Auler's blog