MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rousseff arrives at the White House for a good family photo, but not much more

Obama approved support for military action in Libya while visiting the Brazilian Executive Planalto Palace March 2011

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff begins Monday a two day to the United States with the purpose of improving bilateral political, trade and investment relations as well as continuing on the agenda worked out for when President Obama’s visit to Brazil last year.

However the meeting Monday in the White House has other ingredients that don’t make it so promising as anticipated by Brazilian analysts and media. President Rousseff has criticized Washington’s policy referred to Iran, Syria and Cuba; the Obama administration cancelled a purchase of over 300 million dollars of fighter planes to equip the Afghan air force, and above all Obama’s government resistance to recognize Brazil as an emerging power of the calibre of India, to say the least.

“Brazil has become the France of Latin America. To show its growing influence in international forums is has adopted a somehow obstructionist stance similar to that of France when facing US proposals and initiatives” said a member of the State Department Brazil Desk.

Furthermore the Brazilian president can’t forget the fact that President Obama gave the green light for the US to join military action against Libya inside the Planalto Executive Palace when his visit in March 2011. Both Rousseff and Foreign Affairs minister Antonio Patriota made clear to Obama during their meeting that Brazil rejected any military initiative against Tripoli. “Was it not possible for Obama to wait before giving the order?” repeated Rousseff to her aides and advisors.

The Obama administration are concerned that Brazil is increasingly distancing from the US line with respect to Iran and Syria. The US was expecting Brazil to support the increase in sanctions to Iran’s oil trade and stronger reprisals to force Syrian leader Bachar al-Assad to step down.

The Brazilian government also resents US absence in recognizing Latin America’s largest economy as an emerging power.

According to Brazilian sources the most effective way for paving positive bilateral relations would be for US to make explicit its support for Brazil to become a full member of the UN Security Council, as happened with India in 2009. In 1998 Brazil adhered to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty while India did not, on the contrary it continued with nuclear tests. This however did not impede the US from signing a nuclear cooperation agreement with India.

But according to While House sources President Rousseff will not hear any thing more than the US “appreciation” of the Brazilian Security council aspiration.

However Julia Sweig a researcher of the US Council of Foreign Relations points out that the US should advance and give effective support to Brazil’s aspirations not only “to treat India and Brazil at the same level, but also because of its commitment to non proliferation”.

Brazil’s resentment for not been considered an emerging power is also increased because BRIC co-partners China (Hu Jintao) and India (Manmohan Sing) were treated to a state visit. President Rousseff’s is an official visit which means no banquet at the White House and no addressing the US Congress. Obama however will host the Brazilian leader with lunch at the White House. Brazilians can’t forget also the recent almost ‘head of state’ ‘state visit’ red carpet granted to PM David Cameron head of the UK government.

The last state visit of a Brazilian president to the US was that of Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1995 that was granted the full honours by President Bill Clinton.