Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has luck, that the issue of Venezuela is superimposed on the differences between Germany and Brazil. Open the question of how you want to in the future, with the right-wing populist government handle remains.
Federal foreign Minister Maas in Brazil, counterpart, Ernesto Araujo
The press conference of Minister of foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, with his Brazilian colleague Ernesto Araújo in Brasilia, fell on Tuesday to a one-sided thing. Hardly any questions to the German-Brazilian relations, was able to present the common Position to the unrest in the neighboring country of Venezuela. Germany, like Brazil, recognize the self-declared interim President, Juan Guaidó. It is currently one of the few political fields, which is of the same opinion.
“The issue of bilateral relations was in the Background,” says the German-Brazilian political scientist Oliver Read to the DW. “But that wasn’t so bad, because the relationship between Germany and Brazil is just not easy. But in the case of Venezuela, the two agree, and so you could to the outside of the Unity project,” says Read. “Since the Maas was probably quite glad of it.”
The Climate Question
What was discussed at the Meeting with Araújo and new, right-wing populist President, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, then, in fact, is not known. Germany takes Brazil, particularly in terms of climate protection urgently. Because without the South American giant and a global agreement will not be able to be successful.
However, Bolsonaro want to cut down the Amazon forest and the economic exploitation of as a protect. Araújo holds climate change anyway, for a Marxist lie, propagated by multilateral bodies such as the United Nations. Forget the times, in which both countries drove global climate protection. “It is a traditional partnership, a Partner is going through a radical change,” says Read. Now you have to scan, how to get along with each other.
A difficult task
Bolsonaro is open to the Maas on his Latin American Tour, represented the values of “human rights and multilateralism”. Under the Slogan Maas visited in the port of Colombia and Mexico, where he is looking for partners as a counterweight to the insulating United States and the authoritarian governments such as China and Russia. The Initiative should lead to meeting the end of may in Berlin as a foreign Minister.
The Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro welcomes foreign Minister Heiko Maas
Maas continued in Brazil an eye-catching exclamation point to the declared Donald-Trump-Fan Bolsonaro. He met on Monday in the coastal city of Salvador, once with the Governor of the state of Bahia, Rui Costa. This belongs to the of Bolsonaro hated opposition party, the PT. In addition, Maas was the starting shot for a network for women’s rights. It sounded almost like a symbolic slap in the face for Bolsonaro, who had missed in the past often condescending about women and minorities.
“That does make sense,” says Read. “You can’t face Bolsonaro without symbolic criticism. And Germany is very influential in Brazil and can’t simply do business as usual. The symbolism is so important.” The Federal government would have to show that you stand by the Brazilian civil society, even if their rights would be restricted from Bolsonaro.
Hope for hard words
However, the symbolic diplomacy in homeopathic doses, not only found encouragement. Hard words you would have expected from Heiko Maas, Ulrich Delius, Director of the society for threatened peoples, compared to the DW. “You travel to Bolsonaro him to win for multilateralism. It is as if you ask Putin, whether he joins a network for the rule of law. What is the German foreign policy think of how far you believe in Brazil?”
Bolsonaro was the wrong man for such initiatives, because it narrows rapidly, the scope for the Brazilian civil society. “There is actually a hard-hitting Agenda, which would have to be addressed, namely that the rule of law Standards of this government will always be driven down further. With an Agenda about women’s rights is because completely wrong.”
The role of German companies
Delius also calls for a number of German companies in Brazil, more commitment. With around 1000 German companies in the metropolis of São Paulo, the biggest German business location in the world. “We are waiting for clear comments. The companies need to stand by our European values, not only at home but also abroad.” Germany have also invested in recent years, tax funds for the protection of the Amazon forest. “It would be important that Germany now reports clear.”
Oliver Read believes, however, that symbolism matters currently better than open, undisguised criticism. “The visit was a good compromise. Now you have to decide whether to come on a higher level, on a state visit.” Ultimately, the Chancellor had to stop to get on with anyone. “Within what is possible, the visit was so successful overall.”