Introduction

A former trade union leader, Luís Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva was the first politician from the left-wing Worker's Party (PT) to assume the Brazilian presidency. During Lula's two terms, foreign policy was an extremely important instrument to boost the country's development and international standing, just as it had been in the 20th century after the 1930s, albeit with varying paradigms. In addition to the national component, the foreign policy aimed to foster the development of its neighbouring countries on the other side of the Atlantic, from which the ancestors of a large proportion of Brazil's population had originated. Brazilian diplomacy therefore paid special attention to Africa by strengthening ties with several countries and developing an ‘active, affirmative and purposeful’ diplomacy. Brazil based its insertion in the African continent primarily on South–South (or horizontal) cooperation and the promotion of trade and investments. With this perspective, Lula intended to deepen and diversify ties with African countries by creating various initiatives to foster trade, investment, technical and cultural cooperation and also cooperation in security and defence. Therefore the delegations of Lula's frequent visits to African countries always included representatives of large Brazilian companies. The development projects presented to African countries were in the form of missions, seminars, small and large projects involving infrastructure and capacity building, mostly coordinated by the Brazilian Development Agency (ABC) and carried out by Brazilian technical institutions such as the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), the National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI), and dozens of other smaller organisations. The inauguration/reopening of seventeen embassies in African countries under the Lula administration also illustrates Brazil's foreign policy offensive in the continent.

In addition to bilateral relations with specific countries, Brazil–Africa relations were also strengthened within multilateral forums, such as the UN and the WTO. It is important to highlight the favourable global political context during the 2000s in which the Lula government was projected internationally, when countries in the Global South were able to challenge the hegemony of the traditional powers and play a more active role in the international system.