Integração Regional na América do Sul: a Unasul à Luz das políticas externas brasileiras

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the organization UNASUR (Union of South American Nations), with the general objective of answering the following question: what was the role of the Brazilian governments in the functioning of UNASUR between 2008 and 2019, in light of the foreign policies of Lula, Dilma Rousseff, Temer, and Bolsonaro? To answer this question, the hypothetical-deductive method is employed, using as sources the bibliographical review of the available academic literature and the investigation of the UNASUR Summits. The theoretical framework of analysis is based on theories of regional integration, with emphasis on post-liberal regionalism, which governs UNASUR. The hypothesis put forward holds that the Brazilian governments occupied a prominent position and exerted influence over the processes of development, stagnation, and rupture of the organization. It demonstrates the importance of Brazil as an actor in regional integration, as reflected in UNASUR, being a crucial actor within the organization and exercising influence over the functioning and direction of UNASUR's agendas. It is emphasized that Brazilian foreign policy during the period under study was characterized as a government policy rather than a state policy. In the long term, the political project of UNASUR conceived by Lula was weakened, and the foreign policy approach and the political interests in regional integration of the Bolsonaro government proved to be divergent.