Lula should be able to count on Celso Amorim's ties of trust.

By Denise Assis, for 247

 With a career spanning over 60 years in diplomacy, and author of four books, the latest being "Laços de Confiança" (Benvirá Publishing House), a kind of summary of his activities as Foreign Minister, a position he held from January 1, 2003 to January 2011, after occupying important posts throughout his career, Celso Amorim has been pointed to as the future head of the ministry. Under Amorim, the country expanded its international relations, moving towards Africa, further strengthening dialogue with its South American neighbors and seeking partnerships with Latin America in general, without abandoning its long-standing partners, such as the USA and China, for example.

 The creation of BRICS, which the outgoing government turned its back on, involved the effective participation of the Foreign Minister, as well as the consolidation of Mercosur and other prominent organizations, such as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Latin American Free Trade Association (LATA). He practiced an "active and assertive" foreign policy, as he usually defines it, and placed Brazil on the map of important countries, under the leadership of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as he always emphasizes.

 What is known is that Lula wants him close by. He doesn't want to disregard his experience as an interlocutor with the main international leaders. However, as far as is being discussed, Amorim, willing to make all the necessary contributions, prefers, as he has stated in his most recent interviews, at 80 years old – which he celebrated at the beginning of July – a small room with hot coffee next to the presidential office. Obviously, an elegant way to escape the speculation surrounding his name.

 The position envisioned by Amorim (who often describes it jokingly) doesn't formally exist: that of official advisor. This wouldn't be a problem for Lula, who already had Marco Aurélio Garcia, his friend MAG, in a similar role. Certainly, the president-elect will do everything to have him just a few steps down the hall.  

 Amorim has had a distinguished career and made history. He often tells his friends that dealing with the machinery of Itamaraty (the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) "is no walk in the park." There's a whole administrative apparatus involved, and it's the chancellor's job to make it work.   

 He has revealed to journalists who question him that he no longer sees himself crossing the skies weekly to distant countries to resolve a wide variety of issues. These range from the illegal entry of Brazilians into other territories, to crimes committed abroad by compatriots, or commanding operations such as sending aid to countries affected by catastrophes. These are actions that mobilize and exhaust him. The country owes Celso Amorim a prominent place in this team that exists only in Lula's mind (although Amorim usually rejects the idea of ​​this debt). The bond established between them leads us to believe that, yes, the former chancellor will have his space. Not necessarily flying routes across the Atlantic, living "in the shadows," as in Lula's previous governments when he was younger. Celso Amorim is an asset and has indispensable experience at a time when foreign relations have been shattered. We will certainly see him there.

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