One of the first memories that the current ambassador of East Timor in Brasília, Olímpio Miranda Branco, 68, has of Brazil are the pages of the magazine Manchete, pilfered by him and by colleagues of his aunts who had in their hands the extinct Brazilian weekly publication.
In the 1970s, after all, Brazil was a kind of big brother that had long since achieved independence from Portugal. The Southeast Asian country would secede from the country in 1975, but would soon see Indonesia invade it, in an occupation that lasted two decades.
Today, the diplomat sees Brazil as a potential partner to help solve the main obstacle in the Timorese economy: the lack of diversification. Most of the country’s finances come from oil, and the desire is to invest in the production of basic necessities, to take advantage of the agricultural potential.
The objective is to develop the agricultural and food sectors with Brazilian technology and experience. “Investing in the productive sector, with small industries, we create jobs for our young people, preventing them from leaving Timor for seasonal jobs in other countries”, says Miranda Branco.
Despite the Timorese desire, the movement seems embryonic – and the pandemic has not helped. Previously scheduled visits by Brazilian businessmen to the country were canceled due to the health crisis and, says the ambassador, should resume shortly. There are also attempts at dialogue in the institutional field.
Trade between countries is small. In 2021, Brazil exported US$10.7 million to East Timor — much more than the US$105,000 exported in 2003, but less than the volume to neighbors such as Indonesia (US$2 billion). Meat and agricultural machinery are the bulk of exports.
Information from 2019 from the Timorese government shows that Brazil accounts for a 2% share of supplies to the country. On the other hand, Timor’s imports here are derisory. The most expressive year was 2020, with US$ 82,500, according to Comex Stat, the government’s system for foreign trade consultations.
The desire of Timor, which with Brazil and seven other nations forms the CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries), comes in the midst of a reflux in bilateral cooperation. Once a reference in operations in the country, Brazil has reduced participation, analyze experts who follow the theme.
The lack of political will on the part of the Brazilian state is not the only factor, says Kelly Silva, a professor at the University of Brasília (UnB) and a researcher at Paloc, the research laboratory at the Museum of Natural History of France, in East Timor. “The lack of adequate articulation of the Timorese elites to lobby and the greater cooperation from other countries, such as Portugal, are also important.”
When questioned, the Itamaraty stated that, since the beginning of the bilateral relationship, more than 90 projects have been put on the table. Among those that continue are cooperation in the areas of justice, diplomacy and the military. In these cases, at Dili’s request, the Brazilian government provides training to Timorese professionals.
The main cooperation program in the area of education between the two countries, however, ended in 2016. Until today, the project, then managed by Itamaraty and Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) with the academic direction of the University Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), is remembered with nostalgia by Timorese, who do not understand for sure the reason for the interruption.
Started in 2004, the program took 50 Brazilian teachers a year to East Timor to work in the training of educators at the basic level of education, as well as to contribute to universities and the continuing education of teachers. The project was periodically renewed, which did not happen in 2015. From 2005 to March 2016, almost 10,000 assistances were provided to Timorese.
Interlocutors report that there was no longer any institutional interest on the part of Brazil in renewing the agreement and that the justification for the absence of a budget was the main one, but they also point out that the political crisis in which Brazil was immersed, in the midst of the impeachment process of the former president Dilma Rousseff (PT), had an impact. Just before closing, Timor had requested that twice as many teachers be sent to the next class. When questioned, Capes said that the initiative was terminated “after fulfilling its objectives”.
Kelly Silva, who has studied the country since the early 2000s, laments the weakening of the partnership. “Brazil has a lot to contribute mainly with alternative pedagogical practices, inspired by Paulo Freire, well known in Timor, and in the construction of a more critical educational system.”
“The process of disseminating the Portuguese language with the participation of Brazil was extremely important”, highlights Professor Suzani Cassiani, from UFSC, who coordinated the program.
Although it is one of the official languages of East Timor along with Tetum, Portuguese is spoken by very few – in 2010, only 24% were fluent. The language, although disseminated with the Portuguese colonization, was forbidden during the Indonesian occupation. After the restoration of independence, it was welcomed as a way of reaffirming national identity and differentiating itself from neighbors. But then came the challenge of disseminating it among the younger population, a task in which Brazil was a great partner.
The Itamaraty stated that there is a partnership in place for training Timorese public administration employees in Portuguese and that, with the improvement of the pandemic, a visit to the country is scheduled to assess the feasibility of new collaborations. The demand for support for animal production with Brazilian help, mentioned by the ambassador, is also in the plans.
Timorese continue to study in Brazil through institutional partnerships. According to Ambassador Miranda Branco, today around 90 citizens of the country, including students and religious missionaries, reside in the country. “In addition to academic scholarships, families that have money chose Brazil to send their children to study. It is a conscious choice, considering the quality of education.”
The number of Brazilians in East Timor was 123 in 2020, according to a report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although Timor is a bastion of Catholicism —more than 90% of the population is Catholic, official data show—, anthropologist Kelly Silva reports that, in recent years, more and more Brazilian evangelical missionaries have arrived in the country with social projects.
“Many of these spaces, however, are conditioned by the conversion to Protestantism, even if this is not placed in the public space, so there is religious proselytism”, he says.
