Fernando Henrique Cardoso is a renowned scholar in sociology and political science. He also served as member of Brazil's federal senate, foreign affairs minister, and finance minister. Professor Cardoso received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of São Paulo. His best-known works in English include Dependency and Development in Latin America (with E. Faletto, 1979) and Charting a New Course: The Politics of Globalization and Social Reform (M. Font, editor, 2001).
Location: Starr Auditorium, MacMillan Hall, 117.
Event Summary
Despite differing colonial histories, languages, and state institutions, Brazil does indeed share a relation with Latin America, Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said last night in a lecture titled “Brazil: A Latin American Nation?” Along with some cultural, geographical, and ideological traits, Brazil and other Latin American nations share a position on the “periphery” of the modern, globalized world, he said. This group is largely excluded from the power and economic strength of “core” nations such as the United States and those in Europe, and thus they are subject to similar foreign influences. But Brazil is moving from this periphery of power toward the center, Cardoso said.While Brazil feels comfortable in a Latin American context, Cardoso said, the “sleeping giant is awake” and is looking to one day become a more powerful nation. “We belong to Latin America,” he said. “We feel at ease in Latin America.” However, Cardoso expects that Brazil will “become part of the world” and integrate into the world economy at a faster pace than most Latin American nations.
In terms of relations with the United States, Latin America is not a homogeneous community either, said Cardoso. This is in part because Brazil has an economic stake in good relations with the United States and thus does not wish to alienate America with its political platform, as has happened in Venezuela. At the same time, Brazil is not dependent on American trade, as some countries in Latin America are, he said. While only 18 percent of Brazilian exports go to the US, this number is over 50 percent for many other countries in the region.
Of Chile and Mexico, countries that share Brazil’s approach to the dominating factors of globalization, Cardoso said that Chile is also interested in good trade relations with the US, while Mexico’s national politics show ambiguity on this point.
Additionally, Cardoso pointed out that one cannot speak of Brazil as a homogeneous society any more than all of Latin America is one community. Brazil’s urban centers, such as São Paolo, often have more in common with other large international cities than with other Brazilian locales.
Brazil has not always had a sense of belonging to Latin America, the former president explained. This is in fact a recent phenomenon. Historically, Brazil and other Latin American countries have been perceived as separate because of Portuguese versus Spanish colonizing influences and differing languages.
Cardoso noted that Brazil’s development differed from countries under the Spanish empire because the Portuguese royal court moved to Brazil in 1807 to flee Napoleon and the expansion of the French empire. At this point Brazil’s economy changed significantly because it was permitted to become a producer of manufactured goods instead of just a buyer of Portuguese goods. The strong national and local government institutions created during this time also separate Brazil from its neighbors. They have remained stable, as have its borders for the most part, preventing conflicts that have plagued some other countries on the continent.
It is the forces of globalization that have brought unifying factors such as cultural traits and a similar economic situation to the forefront. Cardoso emphasized that Brazil intends to see its way out of its current status as a developing country relegated to the periphery.
Submitted by Watson Institute Student Rapporteur Liana Paris ‘07
Read a report in the Brown Daily Herald here.
Read here about Cardoso's lecture earlier this month, on climate change.