Bolsonaro's meetings with Putin and Orbán will further isolate Brazil in the world, says Rubens Ricupero to 247.

By Paulo Henrique Arantes, for 247 - What do Jair Bolsonaro's official meetings in February with Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, the Russian and Hungarian leaders, mean? They mean that the Brazilian president will be face to face with two of the autocrats who inspire him, especially in the case of the far-right extremist Orbán, and that Brazil will return to the time of Ernesto Araújo's diplomatic obscurantism, which seemed abandoned since Carlos França took over Itamaraty, believes Rubens Ricupero, former Brazilian ambassador to the United States and Italy.

In a conversation with Brasil 247, Ricupero predicts another leap by Bolsonaro towards complete global isolation. “Orbán is an isolated far-right leader in the world whose power is threatened in his own country. It's a wrong diplomatic gamble and could be another 'nail in the coffin' for Bolsonaro, just like the defeats of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu,” he said.

Putin, according to the diplomat and former Minister of Finance and Environment, now embodies the greatest threat to world peace, with the imminent invasion of Ukraine. “He is the leader of an armed power who has violated international rules. Where will Brazil's image be if Bolsonaro meets with him shortly before or after an invasion of Ukraine?” asks Ricupero. And he answers: “The meeting will be interpreted as support.”

Repairing the diplomatic damage Bolsonaro is causing the country will not be an easy task for the next president. Former UN Under-Secretary-General Rubens Ricupero says he sees in Lula, who leads in all polls, someone who "actually has a foreign policy," as demonstrated by his recent trip to Europe. 

"Together with Celso Amorim, Lula is well-equipped to conduct international policy," observes the former minister, highlighting his disagreement with the former president's recent statements about Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Ricupero laments that the pre-candidates for the Brazilian presidency do not keep environmental issues on their priority agendas. It seems they deal with such issues out of obligation. “Our politicians, when they talk about the subject, do so more out of pressure than conviction. They are clever in the game of power, but lagging behind in dealing with major global issues.”