Paper short abstract:

Since the 1960s Brazil has established and strengthened relations with Africa during three distinct periods under different domestic and international political and economic contexts. This paper compares and analyses Brazil's African policy during the three periods.

Paper long abstract:

Following the end of the slave trade in the nineteenth century, Brazil's relations with Africa ceased almost completely. Brazil's first efforts to re-establish relations with the continent coincided with the independence of African countries in the early 1960s when the presidents Jânio Quadros (1961) and João Goulart (1961-1964) launched political and economic relations with independent African countries as part of the Independent Foreign Policy. The military coup in 1964 ended the rapprochement with Africa, since the right-wing military rulers privileged close relations with the Salazar regime in Portugal (1933-1974), which rejected international demands for decolonization. The oil crisis in 1974 and the end of the Portuguese dictatorship prompted the military regime to change its African policy. The presidents Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979) and João Figueiredo (1979-1985), the last military rulers, embarked on a new foreign policy denominated Responsible and Ecumenical Pragmatism strengthening political and economic ties with Africa. However, in the mid-1980s, due to Brazil's economic crisis, Africa's share in its foreign trade dropped back to the levels of the 1960s and political relations with the continent were substantially reduced. Brazil's recent return to Africa has begun under President Lula da Silva (2003-2010), who resumed and reinforced relations with the continent as part of his country's ambitious foreign policy in a new global context. This paper seeks to analyze the three distinct periods of Brazil - Africa relations in the political and economic domains, as well as with regard to the respective dominant official discourse used by the different governments.