The Foreign Service Journal, October 2016

28 OCTOBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL T he American presidential elections are always a very important topic for the Bra- zilian news media. After all, the United States and Brazil have long enjoyed close cultural, economic and social ties. In addition, as the largest democracies in the hemisphere they have shared cultural and political values, as well as mutual geopolitical interests in both South America and the world. Of course, as is true in many other large countries, only a small fraction of Brazil’s society is interested in foreign affairs. And even that demographic’s attention tends to focus on per- sonalities, rather than the issues and platforms—especially with candidates as colorful as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The battle between the first female presidential candidate of a major U.S. political party and her picturesque adversary has motivated the Brazilian media to step up their coverage of the American election as rarely before. Admittedly, Barack Obama had also been in the spotlight in 2008, both for his strong leadership qualities and the prospect The U.S. Election Through Brazilian Eyes The contest between two colorful personalities has drawn unprecedented attention and some concern here, but there is little fear of changes in the bilateral agenda. BY CARLOS L I NS DA S I LVA FOCUS Carlos Lins da Silva is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Brazil Institute in Washington, D.C., and a senior consultant for the São Paulo Research Foundation of Brazil. He has been deputy editor-in-chief of the Brazilian daily newspapers Valor Econômico and Folha de S. Paulo , and also served as managing editor, U.S. cor- respondent and ombudsman for the latter. that he would become the first African American to reach the U.S. presidency. The empathy between Obama and the Brazilian public was immediate, and so strong that interest went beyond those who regularly follow international news. In effect, Obama became a pop star in Brazil, a reputation he reinforced with sub- sequent presidential visits here. Until recently, Brazilian politicians generally assumed that Republican administrations are better for our national interests than Democratic ones. Contradictorily, however, in almost every U.S. election the Democratic candidate is more popular here. The reason Republicans have been considered preferable is that they were seen as more committed to free trade than Democrats. This year, however, Donald Trump has consistently denounced trade agreements and promised to “put America first.” As a result, most Brazilians have found no rational reason to prefer him over Hillary Clinton. Familiar with the Clintons… Although no public opinion polls have assessed the support that the two candidates have among Brazilians, it is a safe bet that a majority would like to see Clinton elected. Her husband was hugely popular in Brazil during his years as president and remains so today. He frequently returns to Brazil for speaking engagements or for events related to his humanitarian work. And he has developed a good relationship with two former Brazilian presidents (Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), despite the fact that they are political enemies. When she was first lady, Hillary Clinton made two highly successful visits to Brazil, and she returned many other times ON THE U.S. ELECTION