BBC News - Why China’s influence in Brazil is setting off alarm bells in the US.

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April 4, 2006

SouthAmerica: Today one of the main stories on "BBC News" on television was: “Why China’s influence in Brazil is setting off alarm bells in the US”

I have been writing about that for a long time and I realized that Americans did not have a clue about what I was talking about. The American mainstream media still is not aware of what is going on between Brazil and China, at least we have the foreign media, in this case the BBC to give some information to the American public. You can read some of my articles on that subject at the following location:

“While China Rises the US Falls in Brazil and Latin America”
Published on June 2, 2005
http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9296/76/


May 2005 – “US and EU are the Past. The future is Brazil and Bric”
http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/2346/49/



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The BBC News piece also mentioned on that piece the “Monroe Doctrine” and it seems to me that they think that the United States was the original country to set foreign policy for the Americas.

As Brazil is growing in importance on the world stage – it will be a good time for the reporters of the BBC and also the US mainstream media to start learning some basic facts about the history of the countries of South America including Brazil.

When they do that they will learn that Brazil was the original country to set Foreign Policy for the countries of the Americas. You can read about it on the following website:

February 2005 – “Brazil, the Original Leader of the Americas – Part I”
http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/1360/49/


February 2005 – “Brazil, the Original Leader of the Americas – Part II”
http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/1425/49/


After the BBC and other international news agencies learn the history of the countries that they are covering the news – in this particular case – The Monroe Doctrine – and the original “Andrada Doctrine” in Brazil - they will realize that these doctrines might create a conflict between South America and the United States.



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BBC News – Americas
April 4, 2006
Alternative Model?
Why China's influence in Brazil is setting off alarm bells in the US

“Chinese influence in Brazil worries US”
By Humphrey Hawksley
BBC Newsnight, Sao Paulo

While the United States has been fighting its war on terror, a new political idea has begun to punch through with such weight that alarm bells have begun ringing loudly in Washington.

Under the slogan of "peaceful rising", China is selling itself to the developing world as an alternative model for ending poverty.

The pitch is now winning an audience in Latin America, and Washington is despatching the assistant secretary of state responsible for the region, Thomas Shannon, to Beijing to find out what is going on.

His aim is to negotiate the precise line which China must not cross in creating its new strategic alliance with Latin America, which has seen billions of dollars of Chinese money earmarked for infrastructure, transport, energy and defence projects there.

"We want to make sure we don't get our wires crossed," said one official arranging the talks.

The spectre of an encroaching China is made worse by a string of elections which has produced populist and US-sceptic, left-wing leaders. During the Cold War they would probably never have survived in office.

The latest may be retired army commander Ollanta Humala, who is leading the opinion polls in the Peruvian presidential election due on 9 April.

"We're concerned about the leftist countries that are dealing with China," says Congressman Dan Burton, the Republican chairman of the sub-committee on the Western Hemisphere.

"It's extremely important that we don't let a potential enemy of the US become a dominant force in this part of the world."

'Alliance of giants'

While China pleads innocence, more and more voices in Washington are chastising President George W Bush for failing to act as decisively against China.

"As a nation we need to understand that this Communist dictatorship is a government without a conscience," says Senator Lindsey Graham who has recently been to China.

"The status quo cannot be accepted and tolerated by this country any more than the Soviet Union's practices were tolerated by Ronald Reagan."

In Brazil itself, the view is very different. It is about two developing countries, the giants of their regions, forming a natural alliance.

"It's wonderful. It's amazing," says Alexandre Solis, an aircraft engineer who spent more than two years in the Chinese city of Harbin, setting up a joint venture for the ultra hi-tech Brazilian Embraer commuter jet company.

"They wanted all the information we could give them because they are determined to be best in the world."
'Nowhere else'

The flurry of China-Brazil business began less than two years ago after an exchange of visits between Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Since then China's influence can be seen everywhere in Latin America: oil, gas, railways, ports, steel and - worryingly for the US - defence.

In Sao Paulo, Chinese language classes are packed. Not only are students taught how to speak Mandarin, but they are also guided in cultural habits such as attending banquets and singing Chinese folk songs.

"Everything I do is with China now," says one student Priscila Marques, who runs a freight forwarding company. "It's Brazil-China; nowhere else."

The nub of Mr Shannon's Beijing visit, however, is to determine how much can be put down to simply business and how much China plans to export its own political system and power.

"The Chinese government has achieved the greatest victory in the history of human rights," says Charles Tang, who heads the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and who has been behind many of the joint-venture initiatives.

"It has removed 400 million Chinese people from poverty and enabled them to live with dignity and take part in economic life. That is the true measure of human rights.

"Brazil should analyse why China grows so much and Brazil so little."

Monroe doctrine

Washington's political protectionism of Latin America dates as far back as 1823 when President James Monroe decreed that no foreign power would have more influence there than the US itself.

The Monroe Doctrine was last used in earnest during the Cold War, when just about every Latin American country which veered to the left - from Chile to Nicaragua - experienced some form of US intervention.

This time, as China gathers confidence, ideological debate will be over which economic system - Western democracy or Chinese authoritarianism - delivers more people from poverty, and whether wealth or elections are a greater measure of freedom.

In Beijing and Washington it might be viewed as a contest of ideas, but on the ground in Latin America it could turn into something darkly familiar.

"We should always look at Latin America in relation to the Monroe Doctrine," says Congressman Burton.

"There already are [Chinese] military exchanges and hardware being sold - or given to Latin American countries. You can rest assured the US is going to do everything it can to make sure this hemisphere is safe."

Humphrey Hawksley's report from Brazil is part of Newsnight's Inside Latin America season, and can be seen on Tuesday at 2230 on BBC Two.


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You mean there is actually someone in Brazil that can communicate
with the Chinese? How do they do that? With hand signals?...

 

Nope, OIL speaks loudly and clearly in any country. That is why the USA is worried and why China tried to bid for Conco and also why they are buying oil sands projects in Canada.

It's just a "coincidence" that the Axis of Evil and Venezuala also happen to be sitting on a ton of oil. Pure coincidence. Carry on, "liberators". I'll throw flowers at your feet.

 

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April 5, 2006

SouthAmerica: The “Andrada Doctrine” also applies to interference of a country such as the United States in the internal affairs of other countries of South America.

The people in South America is aware of the American interference in Chile when the CIA helped assassinate their democratically elected president in the early 1970’s – president Salvador Allende (1970 – 1973).

The United States tried to interfere also in Venezuela and tried to depose another democratically elected president – president Hugo Chavez.

The United States started interfering in another country in South America in recent years – Colombia. In Colombia the latest excuse is the old US war on drugs, but the drugs have been flowing to the US for the last 30 years. Colombia also has been in the middle of a civil war for over 30 years.

The real reason the US decided to get involved on the internal affairs of Colombia – it is that they discovered “OIL” in Colombia and since that discovery Colombia got in the sights of the US government. Today the Colombian government is a major recipient of US military hardware.

When South Americans take a good look at US influence in South America and its results - military and economic – they have a reason to be worried about US intentions in the region.

Brazil as the main power in the region should finish developing its nuclear weapons program as I mentioned on many articles. Tomorrow, Brazil might need these nuclear weapons to keep any other major power from interfering in the internal affairs of the countries of that part of the world.



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Quoting from my article about the “Andrada Doctrine”:

On May 30, 1822, Brazil through the “Andrada Doctrine” became the original leader of the Americas. The “Andrada Doctrine” established the foundations of foreign policy issues dealing with the defense of the American continent against European interference in the affairs of the countries of the American hemisphere.

…Dom Pedro did not hesitate. He armed José Bonifácio with the highest level of authority possible. The investiture of José Bonifácio carried with it the most extensive powers that any minister had in the history of the imperial or republican Brazil.

José Bonifácio as Prime Minister - January 17, 1822

José Bonifácio was aware of the disintegration of the Spanish empire in the Americas starting with the independence of Paraguay in 1811. Spanish America disintegrated into eight separate and independent countries during the period 1810 to 1830.

Spanish America broke up into various republics and their year of independence was as follows: Paraguay (1811), Argentina (1816), Chile (1818), Colombia (1819), Ecuador (1822), Peru (1824), Bolivia (1825), and Venezuela (1830).

The independence of these countries from Spain was accomplished with a twenty-year civil war in that region of South America and split Spanish America into eight independent republics. Uruguay got its independence in 1828 from Brazil.

Emperor Dom Pedro I lost the Cisplatine Province — the country called "Uruguay" today, in a disastrous war with Argentina in 1828. If Emperor Dom Pedro I had kept José Bonifácio as his Prime Minister in the late 1820's, instead of sending him into exile, most likely the country Uruguay still would be part of Brazil today.

The Andrada Doctrine

In May 30, 1822, Brazil through the “Andrada Doctrine” became the original leader of the Americas regarding foreign policy issues dealing with the defense of the American continent against European interference in the affairs of the countries of the American hemisphere. Here is the actual history of Brazilian leadership in the Americas.

José Bonifácio’s decisions projected a firm, decisive and powerful image of his administration also in his foreign policy. In his diplomatic letter to the American Consul Mr. P. Sartoris in Rio de Janeiro in which he appointed a diplomat to represent Brazil in the United States, José Bonifácio wrote:

“Dear Sir: Brazil is a nation and will take its place as such, without expecting or requesting its recognition by the other world powers. We will send them representatives of our nation. Those nations who receive and deal with them in that capacity will continue to be allowed to use our ports and their commerce will receive favorable status.

“The nations that refuse our diplomats will be excluded from our ports and commerce. This is our frank and firm politics.” He also sent a similar letter to the other representatives of the major European powers, including a letter to Chamberlain, the English representative in Brazil.

José Bonifácio also formulated international foreign policy for the hemisphere with the tendency to protect other American nations that had aspirations of political emancipation.

In his instructions to the Brazilian diplomat representing Brazil in Buenos Aires, José Bonifácio in his diplomatic correspondence dated May 30, 1822, wrote:

“After you have skillfully persuaded that the interests of this Kingdom are the same as that of the other States of this hemisphere, and of the part that they will play in our destinies, you will promise them from our country the solemn recognition of the political independence of these governments and you will lay out the incalculable utilities which can result from us forming together a Confederation in a form of a treaty with Brazil, for defensive and offensive purposes, to go together with the other governments of the Spanish America against the extraordinary European manipulations.

As per instructions from José Bonifácio, the Brazilian diplomat representing Brazil in Buenos Aires, also got in contact with the other South American governments regarding this foreign policy treaty. The “Andrada Doctrine” was the original document that laid out the foreign policy structure for the Americas.

The “Andrada Doctrine” precedes by 18 months, and it is more precise and more courageous than the “Monroe Doctrine” laid out by the United States President in his message to Congress in December 2, 1823.

There is a certain resemblance between both doctrines, but we have to recognize and give credit to José Bonifácio for being the first to expose his thoughts and making a policy in that regard for the entire hemisphere.

José Bonifácio preceded the American President James Monroe in formulating foreign policy for the American hemisphere by more than one and a half years.

…As a component of foreign policy, the Monroe Doctrine has had considerable effect and has had strong support in the US, in part because it promoted US interests. The doctrine has served other American nations too, particularly because it asserts their right to independence.

Because the doctrine as originally formulated made no clear distinction between the interests of the US and those of its neighbors, however, the US has used it to justify intervention in the internal affairs of other American nations.

Given growing US anxiety about the unstable politics of Latin American countries, intervention in a number of occasions has been especially prevalent and controversial in the last 100 years.

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thanx for articles. i try to watch bbc news as much as i can,they have good stuff.cbc has some good stories also that you would never see on US channels. china was talking about building a pipeline right to the pacific but i guess that died out? i havent heard anything. most likely the US told them to get lost

 

Hey, this sounds like a bright idea. Brazil can try to build nuclear
bombs so the US can have a good reason to invade Brazil and
take whatever they want from Brazil. And with the UN's blessing!

I will send this idea to the top brass in Brazil immediately. Thanks
SA...

You do come up with some good ones SA...LOL

I think President Bush will like your idea very much. In fact, just the
mention of WMD's in Brazil will be good enough to invade Brazil.

With big bad ass bombs.

And make Brazil look like Iraq. Bombs away!

 

From SA:

"The United States started interfering in another country in South America in recent years – Colombia. In Colombia the latest excuse is the old US war on drugs, but the drugs have been flowing to the US for the last 30 years. Colombia also has been in the middle of a civil war for over 30 years."


Uh, why don't you work harder on trying to figure out how to get
Columbia to quit making tons of cocaine and transporting it up to
the US? That might be helpful.

Oh, and of course the Black Tar Heroin that comes from South
America is quite the problem too. Work on that one while you are
at it.

And of course the Marijuana that is brought into the US is kind of
a bummer too. Might want to work on that one also...

 

If there is no demand there won't be a supply. If you legalize it you can control demand locally. Drug use is a darwinian selection issue. Having said that, please don't attribute the farce of a drug war by the US to any actual intention to wipe out the drug trade. Iran Contra proved that beyond the shadow of any doubt.

 

Yes, but if there is no supply then the demand will go wanting.

I for one believe cocaine, heroin, and marijuana (plus meth, ect) is
harmfull. Legalizing it would be stupid. Can you imagine drug stores
like liquor stores all over the place? We already have an alcohol
problem. Why help to make the drug scene even worse?

Legalizing drugs will not help control demand locally. This is a myth.
It would only exaberate the problem.

 

There will always be a supply. Look at prohibition in the US. Even the Taliban couldn't eradicate the heroin trade. I think you are being a bit idealistic here -- odd thing to say to someone espousing a conservative viewpoint.

Cocaine and Marijuana used to be legal back at the turn of the last century and the one before. Society didn't collapse then either. The British traded opium for tea and the world didn't fall apart then. If you actually look at the history of drugs you will find that it is mostly a political bogeyman. That's not to say that they don't destroy individual lives -- like alcohol. But the incidence of destruction isn't any higher -- nor in my opinion is it something that we can prevent self-destructive people from doing to themselves one way or another....


Just my $.02