There are cattle for everything, even for foreign policy. In a climate of the Bolsonaro administration’s fair, a group of senators led by Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil – AP) launched a proposal for a constitutional amendment that authorizes parliamentarians to assume embassies without having to resign from their mandates. The measure would create, among other absurdities, a quasi-colonial legal figure that would threaten territorial cohesion.
Imagine, for example, a deputy or senator taking over the Brazilian embassy of a country that shares a border with the state for which he was elected. From neighboring capitals, they would act as plurinational representatives who would put the priorities of their regional bases ahead of national guidelines. The problem could even gain global contours. Once named ambassador in Paris, senator Alcolumbre would become a sort of grand lord of Amapá and French Guiana.
Due to the inappropriate tone of the text presenting the constitutional amendment, which dares to mention an alleged “hateful discrimination” against them, the senators try to present the attempt to liberalize the position of ambassador as part of a broader fight against Itamaraty’s corporatism. A lowly attempt to take advantage of the politicization of the diplomatic post in Brazil and in the world.
As is known, Itamaraty had to deal with the appointment of the president’s son to Washington at the beginning of the Bolsonaro administration. In the United States, the role of ambassador was so devalued in the Obama and Trump years that personalities such as the producer of “Beauty and the Beast” and “the most influential political commentator on Twitter” took over the representations in Budapest and Berlin.
The riot has left the embassy nomination process at an impasse. After two years in office and on the eve of the Summit of the Americas, the Biden administration is still struggling to confirm its envoys in Brazil, Panama and El Salvador.
In France, Emmanuel Macron had a good idea to inaugurate his second term with a reform of the foreign services. Now, employees of the Quai d’Orsay, the headquarters of French diplomacy, are threatening to go on strike in the midst of the Ukrainian War.
In all liberal democracies, the prevailing idea is that the diplomatic apparatus should recognize subnational governments and civil society as full actors in foreign policy. But, with rare and notable exceptions, the appointment of adventurers to embassies does nothing to help diplomacy overcome the challenge of modernization.
If Itamaraty does not want to be exposed to political onslaughts, it must take the initiative in its transformation. The year 2022 will be historic for national politics, with the launch of more than 50 candidacies supported by the Quilombo in Parliaments initiative. To keep up with these changes, Itamaraty needs to dramatically expand the affirmative action program, as well as the gender equality initiatives. The renegotiation between diplomacy and society is the first stage of Brazil’s international reintegration after the Bolsonarista infamy.
