The Relationship between foreign policy and public opinion in Brazil

A transition in the Lula Governments (2003-2010)

Abstract

Did the foreign policy of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva governments (2003-2010) present an expansion of relations with civil society and public opinion? Traditionally, this relationship, as well as the role of public opinion, has occupied a reduced space in debates in International Relations and Political Science in Brazil. However, since the redemocratization of the 1990s, new actors have demanded participation in foreign affairs, challenging the traditional concept of insulation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE). Starting from the definition of foreign policy as well as public policy, this article seeks, with the use of bibliographic and documentary analysis techniques, to verify whether the relationship between foreign policy and public opinion and civil society has changed during Lula's governments. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, this article is divided into four sections: a theoretical discussion on the relationship between foreign policy and public opinion; a brief historical description of this relationship in Brazil; the challenges faced by the MRE from the political and economic opening of Brazil in the 1990s and, finally, the analysis of the period of the Lula administrations.