Brazil's foreign investment approach seen carrying risks

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wants to attract international investors to state infrastructure projects and spur trade, but his approach to China and Russia is irking other key partners.

“In May, we are going to discuss again with the governors the main infrastructure works in the country, and we want to present this infrastructure to other countries so that investors … have the right investment options,” Lula told reporters during a trip to the United Arab Emirates. He also highlighted Brazil’s legal certainty.

Earlier this month, Lula visited China, while Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met his counterpart Mauro Vieira in Brasília on Monday.

"Lula has clearly adopted a posture more aligned with the nations of the so-called BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa]. This is a gamble that carries risks, as it could impact negatively Brazil's relations with the US and Europe," André Pereira Cesar, a political analyst at Hold Consultoria, told BNamericas.

Lula repeatedly refused to blame the war in Ukraine unilaterally on Russia. He also proposed handling trade between China and Brazil in local currencies and criticized the predominance of the US dollar.

Media reported US national security spokesman John Kirby as saying that Lula “was reproducing Russian and Chinese propaganda” and that the comments on Ukraine were “simply wrong.”